Pokemon Wizard
by James the Fox
Summary: A HPPokemon crossover with a diference. A 4year old Harry Potter, body and spirit broken by the abuse of his Aunt and Uncle, is rescued and sent to a new world with no memories of his past save for his name.
1. Of Beginings

Pokemon Wizard

By James The Fox

Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling

Pokemon belongs to Game Freak and Nintendo.

* * *

(looks up at opening credits)"Pokemon." 

Inner James: "Yep."

"But... But... Why?"

Inner James: "A few major reasons, plus several minor ones that even I can't completely understand. Since you've went back to playing Pokemon Diamond and been reading Harry Potter Fanfics, this idea has ben stuck in the back of your head. The second reason, which solidified your resolve, was the fact that you couldn't find many multi-chapter non-humor fanfictions on that were actual Harry Potter/ Pokemon Crossovers that weren't abandoned/very well written/last updated a year or more ago... So the plot bunny stuck to you. You have a bite mark on your butt, by the way."

"... Well... That was a little more info than I needed..."

Harry: "Here's some more. I repeat, Harry Potter belongs solely to J.K. Rowling and Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak."

"... I'm scared about what I'm going to write... Pokemon and Harry Potter... This is madness..."

Inner James: "Madness?"

"Oh no..."

Inner James: "This... Is... Fanfiction!"

"I walked into that one, didn't I... Anyway, you might do well to bust out one of the pokemon intro themes during the first major Pokemon Battle. You know, just for that pokemon-movie feel. On to the Fic!"

* * *

NOTE: _blah blah blah_ is Poke'speak. Humans can't understand this language. For the info of the readers only. 

"Blah Blah Blah" is psychic power speak, which can be understood by Humans.

Recap: italics, underline, and no quotation marks are PKMN Speak, not understandable by human standards. underline and quotation marks are mindspeak, understandable by those who hear it.

* * *

WARNING: Child Abuse and Thoughts of Suicide ahead! Be careful!

* * *

_Quote of the Chapter: "And now... It begins." Lawrence III, Pokemon the Movie 2000_

* * *

Many years ago, beyond almost all memory... There was said to be a land across the sea that contained marvelous creatures of all shapes and sizes and colors. These creatures, with their great powers, were called Pokemon. They supported humans, and humans did likewise. However, they lived separate lives until the day that a certain Pokemon of great wisdom proposed to the others that they must always be ready to help humans. It asked, in it's wisdom, that Pokemon should always be ready to appear before people. And so they did, each Pokemon seeking an human partner to work and live alongside with. They made war and peace with these humans. However, Humans, in their natural greed, began to abuse the Pokemon's trust, using them for their own selfish ends. They unbalanced nature, treating Pokemon as they would slaves... 

The great Pokemon noticed this, and in an effort to restore the balance, they sought out certain individuals with strong will and kind spirits, creating a bond with these individuals greater than any before...

Together, these two freed the Pokemon and banished the worst of these humans from the land. They then sealed the land away, beyond sight and, eventually, memory...

* * *

Yet the freed Pokemon did not forget the care they had for their old partners, nor the regret they had for the descendants of those humans. They begged the great Pokemon to protect those humans, so they may still enjoy a good life. 

In order to watch these banished humans, the greatest of the Pokemon gave almost all his powers to, among others, a kindhearted descendant of the banished humans named Merlin...

* * *

This is the oldest legend of the creation of the Wizards and Witches. Over the ages, Wizards continued to watch over the other Humans, known to them as Muggles, in secret. However, over time, they forgot the reason they had been protecting them so secretly, and simply hid, calling the places where they hid the 'Wizarding World' and calling the rest of the world the 'Muggle World.' Several Wizards even became evil, attempting to rule or destroy others. This was also done in the hidden Pokemon World and the Muggle World. In all cases, kind humans rose up to the task of stopping these villians. 

There are few people in the Wizarding World that know of the Pokemon World as more than a simple myth, and vice versa. These people are usually in positions of power in their respective worlds. However, the two worlds have always been separate.

No normal Pokemon went to the Wizarding World.

No normal Wizard went to the Pokemon World.

However, such fragile balances can never last...

* * *

It was Halloween in the small village of Godric's Hollow, and most people were having a good time, enjoying trick or treating as always. A small, purple rat dashed out of an alleyway across the street, scittering to a house that was invisible to most eyes. Behind it, invisible but not unsensed, was a strange green fairylike creature. 

_We must hurry,_ The fairy said.

_Don't you think I know that, Celebi? I'm the one who brought you here. Why don't you use your powers to stop time?_

_You and I both know I can't do that for very long while I'm so far away from my superior. I'm not one of the higher-tier Legends, and I'll need my energy for what needs to be done._

_Yes... It slipped my mind... I apologise. There it is... We must hurry, if we are to succeed in our endevour._

The rat transformed, becoming a black ball surrounded by purple gas. The slanted eyes and wide grin on the ghostly creature's face was a direct opposite to the worry it was feeling. It flew through the wall of the house, barely making it before the chaos began.

_Celebi, are you ready?_

_As I'll ever be..._ Celebi replied as it appeared beside the ball, invisible to those they were observing. The fairy then shone in a bright light, and all stopped save for the two creatures.

_Good job. Let me handle the rest... _The ball transformed again, and was now a white-pink floating cat-like creature with blue eyes and long feet and a long tail. It flew past a human who had just released a flah of green light at an adult human with black hair and brown eyes. The cat placed it's hand on the soon-to-be victim and he glowed faintly with a pink light. It then quickly went upstairs to another pair of humans, these being a red-haired woman and her baby boy.

_I can't hold time still much longer... Hurry, Mew!_ Celebi strained, and for a moment, time flickered, then stopped again. Moving quickly, Mew placed its hands on the woman.

_It's done! We can leave._

_What of the boy?_

_He has his own protection..._ Nodding, Mew and Celebi disappeared and time restarted. The Killing Curse struck true, knocking James Potter to the ground, his eyes closed. Smiling, Voldemort walked past the fallen man, not noticing him vanishing in pink particles of light. He climbed the stairs, scoffing at the foolishness of the these mortals, and opened the door where he knew his target and his mother were waiting. The fool girl begged that he take her instead, and he laughed, remembering a request from one of his servants concerning sparing the woman... He raised his wand, and in an instant the woman was dead like her husband. He rose his wand at the crying child, but when he cast the curse, he was shocked to find that the curse rebounded from the mere child, destroying him.

However, as he became less than the meanest ghost, he could swear he heard otherworldly laughter coming from two inhuman voices.

* * *

James Potter found himself in what he considered to be the strangest place he's ever seen. He was walking among purple clouds in the what seemed to be late dusk. Standing beside him was his wife, and neither could figure where they were. 

"Is this... death?" He asked. Lily shook her head.

"It... it couldn't be. We're the only ones here..."

"That is where you are wrong..." They turned around to see a white-pink cat-like creature floating before him. It seemed innocent enough, but was obviously powerful, if it was the one that brought them there. It laughed at their stupified faces. "Oh, don't worry! You're safe here. My name is Mew." Lily stared at the creature.

"You're Mew? I read about a legendary creature in Hogwarts' restricted section, but... I never thought you'd be real." Meanwhile, James gave a good natured grin.

'Leave it to Lily to have read about something completely psyco...'

"I am. I'd like to welcome you to my domain... And to say that you are fairly lucky to be standing here. Not only are you still alive, but you're standing in a place no human has even dreamed of in 792 years..."

"Not to sound thankful, but what of our son, Harry? Is he..." Lily trailed off.

"He is fine. He had a special protection. When you pleaded for Voldemort to not kill your son, and you proved willing to die for him, you bestowed a special kind of protecton on him, one that I knew my power would only interfere with. He currently lies sleeping in your house, where I've been informed he will be found and taken care of..."

"But why did you save us in the first place?" James asked. "I mean, we're grateful, and I guess we seriously owe you, so what did you need us for?"

"You see... Your son is important for my future." Mew gestured to a small round object floating in the distance. "That egg contains my child, the child that is destined to create a bond with your son... Seeing as that I will not be able to watch over them after the egg hatches, I sought to take care of him however I could beforehand."

"What do you mean, won't be able?" James asked. Lily's eyes trailed downward.

"The book about you and the other strongest of your kind... It said that when your child is born, you die... I guess that is true." Mew laughed.

"Don't be so sad. It is just a cycle of life. I've lived a long life. I belive that the Wizard, Dumbledore, said that to the well organized mind, death is just the next great adventure. My partner, the one who took care of me since the day I hatched, already waits for me there, and I look forward to seeing her again."

"But you'll never get to meet your child."

"Of course I will. When it's time comes, I will likely be one of the first it sees."

"... So, what now?"

"I will bring you to my world. You will be discovered, and taken care of. Whatever happens, do not give anyone your true last name. Beyond that, feel free to do as you please. You will see your son again, but it will must be after my child is born. Good luck." Then, in a flash of light, Lily and James found themselves in a whole new world...

* * *

Three Years pass...

* * *

In a cupboard under the stairs, a young boy cried. He had bruises and scabs on his arm from his cousin pushing him to the ground, and was thin from near-starvation. Hidden under the messy black hair was a lightning bolt scar. 

"... Why? Why do I have to be... Why do I have to be such a frea' of na'ure?" Three days ago, he had, in desperation and fear of being hurt by his cousin's gang of playground bullies, wished he was somewhere, anywhere else, and had found himself on top of a roof a moment later.

His family had responded by locking him in the cupboard with only small bits of food every day.

"What is my purpose? What am I supposed to do?" He looked at the ceiling. "... I don't care anymore. I don't like being trapped. Anything would be better..." He looked at his pillowcase, reaching in and pulling out a kitchen knife. "Anything..."

Suddenly, the boy was enveloped by a bright light, and found himself floating amoung stars and pink clouds. Harry listened hard to the voices that echoed around him, just out of his sight, and realized absently that the knife he held was gone.

"Is this him?"

"Yes. It seems I was mistaken in letting the boy live in that place..."

"What should we do?"

"What can we do? He's suffered so much. It would be wise for him to have never known of his life up to now."

"You're not suggesting that we..."

"I am. We must. I think he would live a better life freed of those horrible memories. Uxie?"

"... Yes. I am sorry, human child, but this is for your own good. If you find out about this, I think you will thank me later." A blur of yellow and a moment-long meeting betwen green eyes and yellow eyes, and Harry knew no more.

* * *

Professor Cath Conifer of the Sevii Islands was investigating a the infamous Lost Cave of Chrono Island when she saw a flash of light. 

_Eh?_ Her Dugtrio, Cadiii, grumpily grunted. It was 4 in the morning, and Cadiii wasn't a morning pokemon by any measure. Regardless, the two of them abandoned the corridor they were about to take and rushed towards the light.

When they reached where the light had come from, they found a little boy of three years old laying in the center of the room. His messy black hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days, and he looked injured and starved.

_By Arceus' paw! What happened to that human?_

"Hey, kid, kid... He's unconcious... Cadiii, I think we should abandon this expiriment. Let's find an exit... Damnit, why the hell does this happen? We always get interupted by something before we make any breathtaking dicoveries!" She started ranting as she lifted the boy up and walked into a passageway, only to find herself right back in the same room a few minutes later. "DAMNIT!"

Sixteen tries later, the proffesor who specialized in pokemon breeding finally made it back to the entrance, the boy resting relatively peacefully over her shoulder.

* * *

'Where... When... Am I... What... What is this place? And... Who are these people? Who... Who... am I?' 

On the borders of consciousness and unconsciousness, one Harry James Potter sought out the answers to his questions.

"Hey, Kid. Kid! Are you still alive, Kid?" The boy opened his emerald eyes to see a woman with short, spiky violet hair and brown eyes looing down at him along side what looked vagely like a female doctor with red hair that looped near the sides of her head.

"I... don't know... Am I?" The doctor sighed.

"You're talking to us, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but you might be dead too... I was jus'... jus' being sure." The child slurred.

"Ok... We should call your parents to tell them you're okay. What's your name?"

"... Harry, I think. Harry... Potter..."

* * *

"Hmm..." 

"What is it, Nurse?"

"... It seems... That there's no one on these islands named Potter, or who know a guy by that name. I've even checked with the trainers who are staying here..."

"That's weird. I mean, for a kid too young even to have Pokemon to hae ended up in the Lost Cave, which requires either a boat or a powerful Pokemon to get to, by the way, and not a single person knows a thing about him?"

"Yes, but that's not the strangest part."

"Eh? There's MORE? Damn, this is giving me a headache as is!" Cath took a sip of the coffee she was offered by Nurse Joy's Chansey.

"I just checked a list of all the people who have come to the Sevii Islands by boat. He's not on the list."

"Air?"

"No normal Pokemon can carry someone this far from the mainland, and he's not on the roster people who arrived by Zeppelin or Airplane... ID, Birth Records, nothing stating he lived here to begin with!"

"By Arceus! Illegimate child with amnesia! Jenny's gonna go nuts trying to find this kid's parents."

"What do you think we should do while we wait?"

"Who knows? We don't exactly have an orphanage here in the Sevii Islands, and we can't just leave the little guy out on the streets... Maybe..."

"Professor!"

"Just kidding... Good grief... Hmm... Maybe my sister Felina can take care of him. Her assistants wouldn't mind a little extra work," Professor Conifer sighed as she took another sip of coffee. "Too bad that guy Brock ain't with her no more. Never did get why she dumped him..."

"... Well, maybe you could take care of him." The coffee mug came to the ground with a crash.

"WHAT?"

Nurse Joy laughed. "You have been grumbling about how you wanted a protege. But when the perfect opportunity comes, you intend to throw it to the curb?"

"But he's just a little brat!"

"A 'little brat' with no memory except for basic human functions and a name, and we don't even know if its his! Think about it. His mind is almost completely blank. That gives you a lot of room to fill with your knowledge. And he can be really helpful, what with that major experiment you'e been talking about! And the baby pokemon will love him!" Nurse Joy admonished. Conifer winced.

"Fine... I'll take care of him... but I won't promise to like it."

* * *

Professor Conifer quickly ate her words. The boy proved to be a delightful distraction and a big help to her EV and IV research. After a little instruction, the boy was even able to take care of even the scariest pokemon she kept on her ranch on Floe Island, where she also ran the Island Daycare Center. It was strange, seeing a partcularly fierce Arcanine that even gave her problems letting Harry pet it and feed it. The years passed by, and Harry only got better with time, even hatching a Ralts that she decided to let him keep after it followed him everywhere he went. 

She hated to admit it, but when the kid would inevitably leave, she would miss the little snot. And she knew he'd leave. Harry had recently taken to training with Pokemon he had hatched himself, and had become the toughest trainer in his age group. He'd even challenge trainers coming onto the islands from the other regions, and though he usually was no match, he always gave his opponents hell.

"Professor?" Conifer looked at the object of her musings. Harry was now just over ten years old (according to a psychic Pokemon belonging to a friend of hers), and due to go out into the world in a few days. He wore a sleeveless lack shirt under a forest-green short sleeved hooded zip-up jacket. The jacket had one pouch each on his sleeves, and had a poke'ball design turned 90 degrees on the chest. He wore black fingerless gloves and durable black boots. His pants, like his jacket, had a pouch on each leg, as well as a place to strap six pokeballs at his waist and a built-in phanny-pack. His eyes were, like they had been when she first saw them, hidden behind a pair of glasses, though these were oval-shaped instead of circle-shaped. Ralts was gripping Harry's hair in clumps, resting his chin on Harry's head. "We were going to go to the store on Boon Island to stock up on supplies. Was there anything you wanted?"

"Oh, yeah! Could you get some Lava Cookies, and order some of the Water-type Pokemon food? Seel has been pigging out, you know..."

"Sure. The gourmet stuff?" Harry queried.

"That would be nice." The Professor replied. "Oh, and Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do get back here soon. It's your turn to cook dinner."

"Yeah!" Harry ran out the door. Conifer sighed, taking a sip of her almost ever-present coffee while reading the news.

"Heh, James and Lily Prongs in the Sinnoh League Finals. Both to be offered passes to the Sevii Islands and Battle Zone... Guess I win both my bets with Sis. Those two may have been low-profile, but they're better trainers than the has-beens Felina put her money on..."

* * *

"So, Lily... No hard feelings?" The brown-eyed man with black clothes and long black hair asked. 

"No hard feelings, especially since we both know who will win," His opponent replied, a small smile on her lips.

"This will be a one round Double Battle between Lily Prongs of Pallet Town and James Prongs also of Pallet Town. Ready? Begin!"

James Prongs threw two pokeballs into the air, calling out two names as he did. "Go for it, Stantler! Sudowoodo!"

Lily, smiled as she saw the deer-Pokemon and the fake tree Pokemon came out of the spheres. "Why am I not surprised that you chose those two? Go, Drifloon, Glaceon!" The blue dog and balloon appeared, ready to fight.

"Alright, boys, let's get to work! Sudowoodo, Double-Edge on Glaceon! Stantler, Thunder!"

"Drifloon, Double Team, then Psychic! Glaceon... Wait right there!" All Pokemon complied, and Stantler's Thunder missed its mark, hitting only an illusion of Drifloon while the real one sent Stantler flying into the distance with a psychic blast. Meanwhile, Sudowoodo got closer and closer...

"Now, Glaceon! Use Blizzard right now!" Only arm's length from Glaceon, Sudowoodo couldn't hope to dodge the burst of ice that streamed from the Ice-type's mouth.

_WHY MEEE?_ the tree cried out as it was encased in ice.

"That's the way, Glaceon! You did good too, Drifloon!" Lily said as Glaceon chased her tail happily and Drifloon... just drifted in the wind, his appendages blowing freely.

_Wonderful breeze we're having, isn't it?_

_Don'cha get it, Drifloon? We won! We totally kicked thier butts! Who cares about the breeze?_

_... The breeze is like a caress on my head..._

_Ugh... You never change..._

"... Aghhh... I can't believe we lost again. And here, of all places, too!" The two trainers returned thier Pokemon into the Pokeballs, then walked up to each other. "Then again, you always were better at this than me..." They shook hands, and the crowd around them cheered.

However, even then, there was only one thing on thier minds:

* * *

'I hope Harry's doing alright...' Dumbledore thought. It had been almost ten years since he made the horrid mistake of leaving Harry with his aunt and uncle. His letter had returned without a reply, and he had since checked with the Dursleys. He was horrified to find out that he had dissapeared shortly after he had taken abuse and be locked in his 'room.' He had subsenquently sent out a search party all over Britian. Harry's name hadn't been removed from the Hogwarts Roster, so he was still alive. Sighing, knowing that there was nothing that could be done but still cursing his frail, withered mind for his foolish mistake, he turned to the Floo. There had been so much happening over the last thirty years that he hadn't been able to make a very special call he usually made every few years. 

Maybe Professor Oak of the Pokemon world would have some words of advice for him. That is, if he was still alive after all this time...

* * *

"Behold, the tainted fruits of my twisted mind! This is what happens when you read Harry Potter fanfiction while either playing Pokemon or listening to Pokemon Music." 

Harry: "It's horrible!"

Sora: "It's hideous!"

Shadow: "... I'ts not half bad."

Everyone: "Huh?"

Shadow: "The story actually kinda makes sense... Which is better than the crack fics that usually appear in the HP/Pokemon Crossovers section can brag about. And I think it's one of the biggest chapters you've ever done."

"... Are you ok, Shadow? Did you hit your head?"

Shadow: (turns to the readers) "Come on, people! Let's hear you give a second opinion! Review!"


	2. Of Errands

Pokemon Wizard

By James The Fox

"… You all like it."

Shadow: (Smirking triumphantly) "I told you so."

"… I like it too. I WANT to continue it."

Inner-James: "Knew you would."

"… Swwweeeeet."

Mudora (GoW): "Yet another fanfic arrives on this world at the insane whim of my creator."

"Yep. On to the Fic!"

Notes: Same formats as last chapter apply here.

* * *

It was dawn in the Hoenn-Orre Ocean, and yet there were Pokemon floating around. Chinchou were floating, their nightly lightshow ending as the sun rose. All was calm, save for one thing. Swimming in the ocean was a large blue whale of a Pokemon, a Wailord. Normally, this wouldn't be so strange, but atop this Pokemon were two small tents and a two people. One was the Pokemon's trainer, a young redheaded woman with her hair in a side-ponytail. She wore a yellow tank top and shorts, and was currently eating her breakfast, a small serving of bread and fruit.

The other person was also a trainer, this time a boy, who was currently sitting nearer to the front end of the whale Pokemon than the woman. He wore a short-sleeved green hooded jacket with pouches on the sleeves, similarly colored pants with pouches on the legs. He looked at the ocean with gentle emerald eyes hidden behind glasses. Dozing next to him was a Pokemon by the name of Ralts.

"Hey," The boy asked.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the ride."

"Oh, it's nothing. There are still a few days before we reach the Kanto Region."

"Yeah, I know…" The boy replied, absently rubbing the egg in a container in his lap.

"So, what's in the egg?"

"Don't know. It's a special delivery to Prof. Elm, though. Top priority."

"Then why'd you call in a favor instead of getting on the ferry?"

"I was attacked on the way to Gateon Port. I get the feeling that the people were after this egg, so I didn't want to risk being on a ship that they could get on or trace. They're probably waiting for me in Olivine City…"

"Good point." The woman ran her hands through her hair as she walked up next to him. "What're you going to do when you get to Kanto?"

"I already called your husband." The boy said, grinning. "He and Lugia are going to drop me off in Goldenrod City. From there, it's just a simple ride on a rental bike to New Bark Town. It will take a while longer than Professor Elm might like, but he understands."

"Good to hear." The girl said. "You know, at your age, I wasn't anywhere near as organized as you are."

"You had the organization to be a good Gym Leader."

"Yeah, but you run your own business delivering eggs everywhere."

"… Yeah, that does take some organization!" The child laughed.

"… Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Hm?"

"The ocean, it's gorgeous at this time of morning."

"… Yeah." The boy smiled, glancing out towards the sunrise. "The beginning of a new day…"

* * *

Professor Oak of Pallet Town gasped as he heard a familiar sound that he hadn't heard in thirty years. The fireplace roared to life as his old friend, Prof. Dumbledore of the Wizarding World, showed his face in the flames. The old man ran up to Dumbledore, looking his old friend in the eye.

"I was wondering where you've been. I thought you'd died," The old man said. It was true. He had missed the call he always made every 5 years 6 times in a row, after all.

"Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to have pleasant chat. Tell me, how have things been on your end?"

"Busy, but pleasant. Twenty years ago, one of my students, a boy by the name of Ash Ketchum fulfilled a centuries-old prophecy. He kept the balance of Nature and saved our world from itself. He's gone on to do a great number of things. Why, just thirteen years ago, he became recognized as Global Champion in the Master League."

"The tournament between the best of the best… You must be proud, Samuel."

"Yes. His mother is as well. He's become officially the leader of the Elite Four and is living a good life with his wife in Cerulean City… Oh, but that's not all that's happened. I swear… A few years back, a young boy was found in the Lost Cave of Chrono Island. He has no memories of his life before then, but he looked like he had met a wild Primeape… But I digress. How about you? What's been keeping you?"

"War, unfortunately. One of my students, Tom Riddle, fell down the road to evil and went on a reign of terror. It was only recently that he was stopped… But I get the feeling that he isn't dead yet… Aside form that, the one who stopped him disappeared a while back…" The wizard sighed. "I made a foolish mistake, and I am afraid that this boy has paid the price for it… We have yet to find him, even after seven years…"

"Seven years?!" Oak said, startled. "… Tell me, what was the boy's name?"

"Harry Potter. Why?"

"Harry… Potter? You're certain?" Oak said. Dumbledore nodded. "Albus… The boy I mentioned earlier… The one who appeared in the Lost Cave… All he can remember is a name: Harry Potter. Do you think that-" The flames erupted even more at this as Dumbledore, shocked, came all the way through to the Pokemon World.

"Where is he?" Dumbledore asked. Oak smiled. "He's been living with Professor Conifer of the Sevii Islands, but he left a year ago to become a Pokemon Trainer. However, he constantly checks in with her. Let's see if she knows anything." With that, Samuel Oak ran to his computer and called Professor Cath Conifer. After a few desperate moments, the woman's face appeared.

"Samuel! It's god to see you again. How've you been?"

"Good, but now's not the time for formalities. Cath, have you recently heard from Harry?"

"Yes, actually, a week ago. He was a little scratched up, but he was leaving the Orre Region by Wailord. He's currently making his way to New Bark Town."

"Scratched up?" Oak asked, an eyebrow raised.

"CIPHER was after the egg he went to Orre to retrieve."

"Ah… Do you know when he'll arrive in New Bark?"

"Unless he runs into trouble, Harry will likely reach Prof. Elm's lab in about half a day. Why?"

"Cath… I just found out who he is and where he's from."

"WHAT!?" Conifer fell out of the chair she had been sitting in.

"I met someone who knew Harry from before he lost his memories. We don't know for sure how it was that he ended up in the Lost Cave, but I have a friend who knows everything about him from before."

"I swear to Arceus, if this is some kind of joke, Sam… I will MURDER you." She said, pulling on a traveling coat.

"Where are you going?" Oak queried.

"Where else? I want the full story. After all, for the past seven years, Harry might as well have been my son. I'm going to be there to hear what your _friend_ has to say, damnit!" She replied as she attached an Ultra Ball, Lure Ball, and Quick Ball to her belt. "And if it turns out he's responsible for the boy being in the condition I found him, he better run like a herd of Rhyperior was on his ass, because I won't stop till Cadiii hits him with Hyper Beam!" She turned off the display and Oak peered at Dumbledore.

"… I hope you didn't do anything that would have resulted in Harry being seriously hurt," He said as he pulled out his traveling coat and a Pokeball. "I'm sure Ash won't mind if I use one of his Pokemon…"

"…" Dumbledore's silence was deafening as they left the lab.

"If you did, you should go back to the Wizarding World." Oak continued as he released a Pidgeot from the Pokeball.

"I can't do that," Dumbledore insisted. "I must bring Harry back to the world he was born in… He has to know what he is, before he loses control of his magical power."

"… You must be insane…" Oak sighed. "She WILL kill you, if she finds any reason to."

"I'll take that chance," said Dumbledore as he and Oak boarded the large, powerful bird Pokemon, which upon Oak's orders took off towards New Bark Town...

* * *

Harry was about ready to kiss the ground he stood on after landing in Goldenrod City.

"You know, Harry, I don't think that's sanitary," Ash Ketchum, Leader of the Elite Four and greatest trainer in the world, commented.

_Not the smartest thing to do…_ His Pikachu laughed at Harry's antics.

"I mean, they clean the streets every day, but lot's of city Pokemon walk around, and…" Harry promptly got of the ground, grasping his neck as he coughed and gagged. After that, Harry bowed to Ash.

"Thanks for the trip."

"No problem. If you ever need anything, call me!" Ash said as he got on the Lugia he had met in the Orange Islands. As they flew off, Harry headed for the nearby Cycle Shop to get a rental…

* * *

Oak and Dumbledore landed in New Bark Town and knocked on Elm's door.

"Harry?" The professor asked.

"No, Oak. And I've brought a friend." Elm opened the door, gasping at the sight of Dumbledore.

"Hey, isn't he a…" Elm started, staring at Dumbledore's clothing.

"Yes. He's a wizard, and he knows Harry. In fact, he came all the way here to see him. I take it he hasn't arrived?" Oak whispered. Stumbling, Elm opened the door fully and let the two in. The next few minutes were in silence, but suddenly there was a harsh rapping on the door. Oak and Elm exchanged glances and played Rock-Paper-Scissors. Elm lost, and walked up to the door and opened it. Conifer walked in, looking tense. That intensity only grew for the next few minutes until it finally burst.

"Where IS he? He should have been here by now!" She screeched, and Dumbledore got the impression that if she could, she would have been breathing fire. She ranted for a few more minutes, using swear words both Universal and Pokemon-world exclusive, until an earthquake occurred several miles away, shaking the house.

"That's odd… This place isn't well known for earthquakes," Oak mused.

"Yeah, but there aren't any trainers around here right now that has a Pokemon with an attack of that level…" Elm narrowed his eyes. "But Harry's Tyrogue has Earthquake."

"That settles it. I don't think I've ever known Harry to stop in the middle of a delivery for any casual battle. Professor Elm, do you have any Pokemon that can get us to the source of that attack?" Cath asked.

"I do have a few…"

"Alright! Let's get a move on!" Cath roared, causing Elm to scramble for his Pokeballs. A few seconds later, they were off, Oak and Dumbledore riding an Arcanine while Elm and Conifer rode a Rapidash.

* * *

__

_Ughh!_ Tyrogue groaned as he hit the ground, wincing at the cracking sound near his leg. A few feet away from him, his opponent was getting closer… He had always been proud of his fighting strength, and he had always known very powerful attacks… But this Pokemon was something else… When it had come out, Harry's eyes had widened in shock, and Tyrogue could feel that there was something off with this one… They both knew, without ever seeing one before, that this was a Shadow Pokemon. Plus, it was much more powerful in the first place. The Marowak raised its club, knowing that there was no hope for the fighting-type.

"You're the famous Harry Potter? Tch, some trainer you turned out to be. Now, give me that egg, and I might leave one of your Pokemon in your possession." The Marowak's trainer, a man wearing the usual uniform of the CIPHER organization, smirked at Tyrogue's trainer, a human by the name of Harry Potter. His other Pokemon, Ralts, stood in front of Harry, ready to fight should the Pokemon or Trainer make any move towards his trainer/parent/friend. After all, such was the nature of Ralts and its line. To protect the Trainer, no matter what.

Looking at the brave little Pokemon that had been with him all of its life, Harry bit his lips. How had he been so foolish? When they had attacked last time, they hadn't specifically meant to capture him. He looked at the small, almost unnoticeable chip that had been discreetly attached to one of his pant legs. They had been tracking him…

"So, what's it gonna be, kid? Either way, I get what I want… None of your Pokemon could ever beat my Marowak." He bragged, stretching his arms out as if to shrug. "And that one right there ain't looking so hot." He pointed to Tyrogue, whose eyes were squeezed tight in pain.

"…"

"HARRY!" The year-long trainer turned his head in time to see a Fire Blast come out of the nearby forest, hitting the Marowak and knocking it to the ground. Out of the trees came a Rapidash and an Arcanine. The fire-types came to a halt next to Harry, and he inwardly screamed with relief as Prof. Conifer, Oak, Elm, and an old man he didn't know got off the trusty Pokemon. The old man muttered in a strange tongue while pointing a stick at the Shadow Pokemon, and it instantly froze up, becoming as stiff as a board. The CIPHER Grunt returned the ground-type, but as he was about to leave, the old man waved his stick again, and the Pokeball flew straight out of his hands and into the old man, alongside three other Pokeballs. The man then performed the same trick he had done with Marowak on the criminal, trapping him. Harry ran up to Tyrogue and instantly began following the procedure for applying first aid to a Pokemon with broken bones.

"It's all right, Tyrogue, you did great, especially against such odds." Harry said as he finished up.

_Hey, don't you go patronizing me. A loss is a loss. This means that I've still got to train harder…_ The 'baby' fighting-type Pokemon closed his eyes and turned its head away, crossing his arms stubbornly like a guy trying and failing to be cool. Ralts carefully used his psychic powers to carry his fallen comrade and 'brother.' Harry, meanwhile, walked alongside the floating Pokemon and applied medicine from his bag to stop the bleeding. The old man walked up to Harry, and smiled, as though looking at a long lost friend.

"Harry…"

"Yeah, that's me." The trainer's eyes glanced into the sparkling blue eyes of the older man. "Not to sound ungrateful, but who are you?" He asked, keeping both the injured Pokemon to his left and the Pokemon Egg he had left on the ground a good distance away in sight.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore," The old man replied, the same kind smile still on his face.

"That's an interesting name… But I have a Pokemon to treat, and I don't have time to talk with someone… But again, thanks for helping out. I don't think I would have gotten out of that alive if you hadn't shown up." He turned away, returning to tending to Tyrogue.

The next few minutes were spent with Ralts carefully setting Tyrogue upon the back of Ash's Pidgeot and tying him down so that the fighting-type wouldn't fall off. After that, Pidgeot flew the younger Pokemon back to New Bark's Pokemon Center. Harry picked up the egg and boarded the bike. Oak and Conifer rode atop Rapidash.

"I guess all that's left is to hope for the best…"

* * *

"How is he?… That's wonderful! Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy! Tell him that I'll see him soon!... Bye!" Harry put down the phone and turned to the professors. "He's hurt pretty bad, but he'll be okay in a week!" He threw a fist into the air in his excitement. "Oh yeah!" Ralts mimicked the movement at the same time.

_Oh yeah! That's Tyrogue for you! The ultimate stubborn punk!_

"That's great news, Harry!" Oak stated, shaking his head in an amused manner at the child's excitement.

"Yeah. So, Professor Elm, what was so important about that egg, anyway?"

"Well, it appeared in Agate Village, which makes it special in two ways. One, no one in the Orre Region has ever seen an Egg before, except from being brought over by trainers, like you yourself have done before, or by trainers breeding their Pokemon. Two… You know the legends surrounding Agate Village."

"… You think it might be a Celebi Egg," Harry said, glancing at the egg that rested just a few feet from them on an incubator. It was pulsing and making odd sounds, hinting that it was about to hatch. "That's… that's unheard of. I'm not exactly an expert on Pokemon Mythology, but only a handful of Legendary Pokemon come from Eggs, and I don't think Celebi's not one of them."

"That's where you're wrong," Professor Conifer said. "Have I taught you nothing? All Pokemon have been known to come from eggs. The legends even state that Arceus came from one. Manaphy has been confirmed several times over to come from an egg, too. It's not impossible that other Legendary Pokemon come from eggs, too."

"You've got a point…" Harry's musings were cut off as the egg gave a particularly bright shine and started to crack. Instantly, the building was pure chaos.

"Oh, for the love of Dialga! Why now? Who's it going to bond to?" Elm panicked

"Shit! We didn't even think about that!" Cath swore.

"… Well, how about Harry?" Everyone turned to Dumbledore, who had been quiet up to this point. "After all, it was he and his Pokemon that risked their lives to get it here." He smiled, the blue eyes twinkling. The egg started to hatch as Harry picked it up. In one great show of light, the egg was blown away, revealing the Pokemon, which opened its eyes, slowly awakening into the world of light, finally resting its eyes on a living life form… and smacked Harry's face with its flailing tail as the Magikarp jumped into Dumbledore's arms.

Mom Mom Mom Mom… The red Pokemon repeated over and over again.

"… A Magikarp… Well… That was anticlimactic," Harry muttered. Dumbledore, under Elm's suggestion, captured the fish Pokemon. "And I expected at least something like a Skarmory… Ah well." He sighed, snapping his fingers. "Moving on... Mr. Dumbledore, I never did ask your reason for being here. Same goes for Professor Oak and Cath. Not that I'm not happy, but I'd kinda like to know why you all were waiting for me…"

Oak and Dumbledore exchanged glances. "Well…" Oak started. "You might want to sit down and get something to drink… This may take a while…"

Harry shrugged. "Sure, but I need to make a call first…"

* * *

"So, Misty, where do you want to go tonight?" Ash asked.

"I don't know… I did hear about this new one and-" Misty's reply was cut off by an explosion.

"Prep-" Began a voice from the dust cloud that was thrown up.

"Oh, shut it," Ash said, walking past the clouds with a dismissive gesture. Why do you always insist on saying your motto whenever you appear?"

"Because we want to!" A whiney voice called out.

"… Uh huh… What are you all up to nowadays, anyway, 'Team Righteous?'" Ash asked, using the group's new name.

"We heard from our sources that CIPHER is after a certain child because they might be escorting a Celebi Egg-nya." A cat-like Pokemon said from between two white-clothed adults.

"Oh, you mean Harry? We just heard from him. He made it, egg in tow, to New Bark Town, where he was headed."

"WHAT?!" The owner of the whiney voice was revealed to be a blue-medium-length-haired man. Standing next to him was a woman with long red hair. Between them, a cat-like Pokemon stood on two legs.

"Yeah, he called me just five minutes ago." Ash said, putting his hand up to his ear in a 'phone shape.' "His Tyrogue was hurt, but he'll be fine... Anyway, we need to go. Misty made me PROMISE her that we'd have some personal time tonight." Ash was quickly hit over the head by the redhead.

_**"What was that?"**_

"Uh… Er… What I meant to say was that I wanted to treat Misty to dinner tonight. You know, romantic music, all that…" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Pikachu laughed, looking at the Meowth.

Ash really is a pushover when it comes to Misty, isn't he?

"That he is, Pikachu, that he is-nya."

* * *

"Well, that concludes this chapter. This chapter had an appearance from several of the Pokemon Anime Characters. This is mostly because… Well, in my eyes, the anime wasn't that bad, until the Orange Islands arc ended. After that, it kinda burned out. However, if anyone in charge of the Pokemon Anime is reading, please, at least try these steps to revive it:

1: Just make Ash Pokemon Master, and end it already! After more than 500 episodes, anyone would be tired of watching Ash.

2: Use a different series of characters as the protagonists. My suggestion: Wes from Pokemon Coliseum.

3: New, more competent villains. Keep Team Rocket if you must; just throw a more awesome team into the mix, like CIPHER. And no motto for them, PLEASE.

4: Don't completely butcher the story of each Japanese episode. I understand that more American audiences are more 'sensitive' and intolerant of more complex, adult themes on a kids show. However, many of the fans of the original Pokemon anime are now reaching/have reached adulthood, and likely are annoyed with the childish themes. This goes for many other Anime, too. I'm glaring at you, 4-Kids, by the by.

There. Rant time over."

Manaphy: "Rant! Cool!"

Harry: "… That was excessive."


	3. Of Wizards

Pokemon Wizard

By James The Fox

"Finally, I'm back to PKMN Wizard! Pokemaniacs and Muggles, rejoice, for I have given you a grand (Late)Christmas/Holiday present!"

Pokemaniacs/Muggles: (Rejoicing)

"Well, I won't keep you all waiting. On to the Fic!"

* * *

NOTE: Formats from before shall apply to entire story.

* * *

"So, what is it that you need to tell me that's so important that you couldn't just have sent me a letter or called me?" Harry asked.

"Harry…" Oak started, unsure of how to say what he needed to say. He finally composed himself, and finished. "… We found out who your parents were."

Harry's eyes widened. He looked at Dumbledore, then back to Oak.

"…You mean to say that this old guy's my father!?" At that point, almost everyone face-palmed.

"Er, no. This man is Professor Dumbledore. He is the head of the school your parents attended," Oak clarified.

"Ah. Yeah, I kinda figured something like that," Harry said, petting Ralts. "At any rate, when you say 'were,' are you implying that they're… you know, dead?"

"… Yes."

"When? How?" Harry asked.

"… They were… murdered. You were one year old."

Harry's eyes widened, and he stared at the professor. "… I… see…"

"The murder is famous where we both come from."

"How so?"

"… The one who killed your parents was a man, known by the name of Voldemort, who sought to control our world, the Wizarding World." Harry's eyes twitched in recognition of the name of a world mentioned in ancient texts. "He had almost succeeded, until he attacked your family. He killed your family, and then he went after you. No one knows for certain what happened, but he couldn't kill you. When he tried, the magic he used backfired, and all his power was lost. Some say he died that day, some believe that he's become nothing more than a spirit, drifting through the world. There are many theories." He took a sip of tea, allowing Harry to absorb the information he had just gotten. "At any rate, you came out of it all unharmed, save for one lightning-shaped scar." Harry put his hand up to the scar that adorned his forehead.

"… Well… that explains a lot… So, from what I'm hearing, you're saying that I'm... some kind of magical person? Like in the legends."

Dumbledore, remembering the old legends, nodded. "Yes."

"Well… I guess those aren't ancient fairytales after all," Harry muttered.

"But that doesn't explain… the other scars," Professor Conifer said, raising an eyebrow.

Dumbledore hesitated. "… I'm afraid… That was in part due to a mistake I made a long time ago."

"Hmmm?" Conifer made no great movements, but Dumbledore could see promises of death coming from her eyes as her hands twitched toward her Ultra Ball. Regardless, he continued.

"I had assumed that his aunt and uncle would take care of him, and that, due to the blood wards I had placed on their house, Harry would be safe from the servants of Voldemort who, even then, were seeking to finish the job their Dark Lord had started… I was wrong on the first count." He sighed. "When I checked on you, I found only a cupboard that showed some minor signs of having been lived in." He bowed his head. "I am sorry for my foolishness."

Harry stared at the old man sitting before him. His eyes seemed to go through several different emotions, most prominently shock and dismay.

"Harry, I can only imagine what you're feeling right now. I hate to ask, but… I would like you to come back with me." Harry made no response, though Professor Conifer looked like she was going to explode. "Back to learn at Hogwarts, the school your parents attended, at least for the school year." Harry stood at this, eyes still flashing through an uncountable number of emotions. He turned and walked out the door, muttering an excuse. Dumbledore followed, only to be stopped short as a single razor-sharp Magical Leaf flew past his face and embedded it into the wall to his left. Ralts rushed from Dumbledore's right to place himself in between Dumbledore and his goal.

_One move towards that door… Just one little twitch after Harry, and the next one will make SURE that you have to change your gender classification._ As if to emphasize the point of his warning, Ralts aimed the Magical Leaf above his head low. Dumbledore stepped back, only to bump into a mound behind him he turned around to see a Dugtrio grumbling in protest.

"Now… We're going to have a little talk, Professor…" Conifer said with a dangerous smile…

* * *

Harry collapsed against a tree, trying to collect his thoughts. 'Okay… Okay… First revelation… My parents are dead. Okay… That's… Okay… Not like I really knew them in the first place… But still… Would have been nice to know them… Second revelation… They were murdered by some sort of psycho, and I'm the reason he died shortly afterward. Well, he deserved it. This isn't so hard… Third revelation: I probably spent most of my unremembered life abused in some cupboard… Meh. I can't remember it anyway… And it might be the reason I was brought to the Pokemon World. No real harm done… Fourth revelation: The senile old geezer that left me with those people wants me to go back to his world, not only bringing me away from everything I know, at least for a year, but also leaving me in a completely unfamiliar place where I might be in danger, if those servant guys are still after me... Okay… yeah… um… Well, crap. I can't think of a bright side.' He closed his eyes. 'Add to that the fact that only…' He looked at his Pokétch. 'Forty minutes ago, I was about to lose all my Pokemon to some CIPHER creep.' He sighed. "Well, what next? What the hell does Arceus have in store for me now?"

Little did he know that Arceus had an evil sense of humor, and was about to answer that question.

As loud bangs and thick clouds of smoke covered the area, Harry looked on to hear:

"Prepare for Trouble!"

'Oh, hell no. You're a cruel, cruel God-Pokemon, Arceus.'

"Yes, and make it double!"

'Crap.'

"To protect the world from devastation!"

'This is just a dream… This whole day is just a bad dream...'

"To unite all people within our nation!"

'Maybe a Pokemon's been using Dream Eater on me…'

"To pronounce the goodness of Truth and Love!"

'No. It can only be Darkrai. It must have decided it likes me. That would explain everything.'

"To extend their reach to the stars above!"

'But Darkrai usually hangs around Canalave City in Sinnoh. I've never been there because it likes kids...'

"Jessie!"

'In fact, Professor Conifer would kill me if she found out that I'd been there.'

"James!"

'That is, if I didn't die from the nightmares first…'

"Team Righteous flies off through the night!" Jessie said as a giant R suddenly appeared from nowhere behind the group.

'But that means…'

"Villains beware, because you're in for a fight!"

'Well… I guess this day just gets better and better…'

"Meowth, that's right!"

Harry got up and crossed his arms. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We were going to assist you in delivering that egg…" Jessie started.

"But it seems that those old twerps got to you first," Meowth grumbled.

"So we decided to at least see how things were here." With those words, James ran a hand through his hair.

"They're… fine," Harry said, turning around and walking off.

"Not according to the look that was on your face just a little bit ago, twerp!" Meowth countered.

"What's up?" James asked.

"… Well… I just found out about my parents."

"Oh! Turned up, did they? Darn, we've been working on that one for ages!" James pouted.

"So, who are they?" Jessie asked, a smile on her face.

"… They're dead. Murdered, in fact."

"Oh."

"Also, someone who knew them wants me to go with him, to a faraway place where everything is different from how it is here…"

"Like the Fiore region?"

"… Yeah. Kinda like that…"

"Well, don't worry too much."

"Huh?"

"You can always come back here, you know."

"… Yeah… That's right…" He smirked. "Of course. If I don't like it, I'll just come back here. I mean… It wouldn't hurt to try!" He turned to face Team Righteous while running backwards to the Lab. "Thanks, Team Righte-oof!" Harry tripped over a rock as he tripped. For a while, there was an awkward silence. "… I'm O.K.!" Harry got back up and continued his run. He had to get back to the Lab BEFORE his teacher/mother-figure found Prof. Elm's chainsaw.

* * *

Apparently, she didn't exactly need it. Ralts held a Magical Leaf (Spinning very quickly) only an inch (and closing) from Dumbledore's right eye while the old man in question was bound to a chair. Just as it got within one fourth of an inch, Harry barged in.

"Ralts! Stop that right now!" In nigh shock, Ralts stopped the attack, and the leaf drifted down into Dumbledore's lap. Dumbledore's right eye twitched (It would later be found that even to the day of his death, Dumbledore's right eye would always start twitching at random moments.) and he sighed in relief.

_What?_ Ralts asked, raising his arms in a shrug. _What? You actually thought I'd… Naw! I wouldn't do that!_ Ralts then brought his hands together in a very evil way just out of Harry's sight. _I'd aim for his other eye, too._

Harry unbound Dumbledore and looked at his 'family.'

"I've made my choice." He closed his eyes. "I'll check this Wizarding World out. However, if things get bad for me or my Pokemon, I'll be back here…" He snapped his fingers. "Just like that." He smiled at his adoptive mother. "Don't worry. I'll send you letters as often as I can... And I'm thinking of expanding Harry Potter's Egg Delivery Service, as well."

"You sure about that, Harry?" Oak raised an eyebrow. "You know… There's a reason that the Pokemon World and the Wizarding World are separate."

"Precisely," Harry said without batting an eye. "Much good that did for our worlds, anyway. I mean, look at the state they're both in. One's probably still recovering from a war against an evil overlord, and another's only recently taken out most of the criminal syndicates that have divided it up. They've got this Voldemort guy, we've got CIPHER." He picked up Ralts, who was pouting at his missed chance to take out Dumbledore. "And it's not like the worlds are separate anymore. I mean, I arrived here, right? And Dumbledore came here, too. I think the Legendary Pokemon are trying to tell us something." He turned to Dumbledore. Ralts glared at the old man, whose eye twitched again. "As soon as Tyrogue is dismissed from the Pokemon Center, I'll be ready to go." He walked to the door, presumably to visit the Pokemon Center, but stopped before exiting.

"Harry…" Conifer smiled in a melancholy kind of way. The boy turned about and gave a thumbs-up, Ralts cradled in his left arm.

"I think it's time to mix things up."

* * *

"So, Jessie… Do you think we did well tonight? With the kid, I mean?" James asked as they left Cherrygrove City.

"Of course! I mean, anywhere that someone can go, there always has to be a way back. He'll be fine," Jessie assured her teammate.

"Yeah… But I think I'll miss the new twerp," Meowth mumbled. They all stopped and sighed.

"So, what are we going to do with him gone?"

"What do you mean, what are we going to do?" Jessie pointed a finger dramatically towards the horizon. "The world's a huge place, and there's plenty of good to be done for us, Team Righteous!"

As the trio set off in high spirits, they only partially noticed the red-haired female trainer traveling with her husband in the opposite direction of them…

* * *

"… Okay, that wasn't as long as I'd have liked. Ah, well. Here's a tidbit you might be interested in: Pretty soon, I'm going to release Harry Potter and the Gathering of Worlds: Final Mix, among other things, on DeviantART (My Homepage)."

Shadow: "Final Mix?"

Sora: "Ripoff artist!" (Mauls James with Keyblade)

"… That doesn't hurt. Invincible here, you know. Anyway, see you folks soon."


	4. Of Drunk FightingTypes

Pokémon Wizard

By James the Fox

"Man… Sorry about not updating… But, when I explain myself… HAHAHAHA!"

Sora: "… That can't be good."

"Don't worry, Sora, it has nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts. Nor Naruto, nor Harry Potter, nor Sonic the Hedgehog, NOR Legend of Zelda… NOR Pokémon."

Kairi: "…"

"You see, recently, an idea sprang into my head. Yes. An idea. Happens often, huh? However, this is not just ANY idea. Oh no…"

Sora: "Oh no…"

"No, THIS… Is an idea for a wholly original plot."

Harry: (Heart Attack)

"Plus, it's a comic. Once I get my hands on a scanner that is compatible with my computer, I will post what I have made of it! For those looking at my DA account… Ignore the drawings I left there early in my DA career. They're only a shadow of my new artistic self… Anyway, I also have another announcement, which some of you may already know: A while back, I placed a poll up in my FF account which changed my update schedule:

XIII Ninja

PKMN Wizard

Other Story.

Rinse and Repeat.

I'm still shocked that ONNaO came so close to beating out PKMN Wizard as my second most demanded story… Wow."

James (ONNaO): "I'm not, cause I'm sexy!"

"… Okay, just for that, my alternate self shall be beaten to near death in Chapter 13. I swear it."

Shadow: "… You realize that you're forgetting something, yes? Your other reason for not updating?"

"… Life?"

Shadow: "You were too busy playing SA2:B. I swear… You actually had it finished, but you never posted it until just now!"

"… Yeah… Anyways… On to the Fic!

* * *

After asking around and finding that the medicine nurse Joy was using would heal the Fighting Type's leg in about thirty minutes longer, at the cost of him being woozy, delirious, and VERY unsuitable for battle for the next few days, Harry checked on the baby Pokémon.

On top my heaaaad, all colored in reeeeeeed… a Bulbasaur yaaaawned, and blew up the seeeaaas… Tyrogue sang, obviously already under the effects of the medicine.

Wow… He's really out of it... Whatever he's on, I want some! Ralts complained to Harry, although he knew the wizard couldn't understand Pokémon language. Gah… I really need to learn how to speak with my psychic powers…

Harry sat at Tyrogue's side. "How are ya feeling, Tyrogue?"

WOOSH… WHEEEEEE… Tyrogue wavered for a moment, sighing loudly as he relaxed into his pillow. Harry laughed.

"Wow, Tyrogue, you sound like a drunk Spinda... Maybe I should ask Nurse Joy for a recoding from the security camera…"

I see twooooo Haaarrrrrrryyyys… Tyrogue said, looking past Harry and Ralts into the window to the hallways of the Pokémon Center. Whyyyyy are there twooooo Haaaaaarryyyyyyys?

I definitely need whatever he's on. Maybe I should break my leg, too… Ralts mumbled. Harry gave him a pointed glare.

"I may not know the Pokémon language, but I bet I know just what you're thinking and that you should stop thinking it… Now."

Awww…

I'm a Duuunnnnsparce. Watch me roooooollllllllllll…

* * *

Ever so inconveniently too wrapped up in their own conversation, James and Lily passed right by without noticing that their son was in the next room.

"CIPHER?"

"Yeah… I overheard some blokes talking about it. There's no doubt… They have a base at the Tohjo Falls."

"What are they doing there, of all places?"

"Nobody knows for sure, and I don't really care. I say we take them down here…"

"Are you crazy!" Lily almost shouted at her husband before realizing where they were and softening her voice. "… This isn't like before, James… We're just two people and twelve Pokémon… We're not the Order of the Phoenix. What if we had to use our magic? What would happen when the captured CIPHER agents spouted off about their Pokéballs flying from their hands?"

"Drifloon and Stantler used their Psychic Powers."

"And the ranting about the duo swinging sticks around and weird stuff happening right afterwards?"

"Conducting our Pokémon. Like music."

"… We're pretty well known, though we've mostly kept our heads down since the Sinnoh League. Anybody with half a brain will figure that something's up."

"So? It's our word against theirs." James saw Lily's glare and mellowed from his defiant attitude. "Okay, okay… I won't storm their stronghold…" Lily noticed the look of defeat on James face, and frowned. It had been about eleven years, without much "real" action, as James called it.

"How's this? We'll report it to the authorities, and if they accept it, we'll help them out."

"Okay!" James stood straighter than before, and grabbed Lily's wrist, about to drag her off to the police station.

"Uhm… James, dear?"

"Yeah?"

"We need to let our Pokémon rest first."

"… Oh, yeah." James laughed at himself, and they began their search for Nurse Joy.

After several minutes of searching, James excused himself from his search to head to the restrooms, and left his Pokéballs with Lily to give to Nurse Joy or a Chansey should she see them. Shortly after James left, Lily noticed the familiar pink form that was a Chansey, and rushed to her, explaining that she needed to drop off her and her husband's Pokémon. The Pokémon took them, smiling at the flustered woman as she took the Pokémon for a checkup.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nurse Joy walked into Harry and Tyrogue's room.

"Time for a check up! How are you feeling, Tyrogue?"

I'm baking a pie for Zapdos, but it's a lie! Don't tell him, okay? He'll hit me with a psychic blast!

Ralts burst into laughter.

"Well, the side effects seem to have come into play…" Nurse Joy checked Tyrogue closely, finally giving a nod. "Well, I wouldn't suggest that he fight for a few days, but he's travel-ready."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Harry bowed. "Tell your cousin on Floe Island I said hi!" He returned Tyrogue to his Pokéball, and left the Center to Elm's lab.

* * *

An hour later saw James and Lily Prongs walk into the Police Station.

"Hello, how can I help you...?" behind the counter stood an unenthusiastic-looking young man, about 23 years old. He was currently reading what James could only assume by the cover to be a dirty magazine of some sort, and made no attempt to hide the offending object, and in fact was reading it as he spoke. "… Please state your name and what crime was done either to or by you…"

"Uh, actually…" James started. "We're here to offer a lead on the CIPHER chase. We overheard that they have a base at Tohjo Falls and…"

"Oh, that… actually, we already received such a tip, and we're currently acting on it as we speak… We recently captured a member, and he spilled the beans… Is that all?"

"Huh…" James looked absolutely dumbfounded. "No, that's all, thanks." The man gave no notice of adding or subtracting attention to the duo except for a half-hearted "Thank you, and have a nice day…" while they left. He sighed, and turned a page in the magazine.

"Arceus… You know, I don't get why they don't have me going out on real police work, and not crap jobs like this…"

Arceus thought about striking him with lightning right there, but decided that he wasn't worth the -4 Attack EP it would cost him to do it, even without his Macho Brace. Even a God Pokémon has to take make sure he gets only the best bonuses he could…

* * *

A few hours later, Harry, Oak, Conifer, and Dumbledore arrived back in Pallet Town, since that was the only available connection between the two worlds. Harry looked incredulously at the fireplace. "You're kidding, right? A fireplace? THAT'S how you travel?"

"We have other modes of transportation, but this is the fastest legal method."

"Okay…" Harry gulped nervously. He was seriously having second thoughts. Dumbledore stooped into the fireplace.

"Now, to use this, you have to throw the powder down and clearly say the name of your destination, The Leaky Cauldron. Understood?"

Harry nodded, and as he watched Dumbledore throw the powder down and stated his destination, he expected anything to happen. For him to grow wings, to vanish, to shrink to a microscopic level…

Anything but bursting into green flames.

You've got to be kidding… Why did he have to burst into flames? Ralts mumbled. Regardless, Harry recalled him to the safety of the Pokéball, and stepped into the fireplace.

"Take care, Harry…" Conifer said, a neutral face shown but the slightest sign of tears about to become visible. 'He… Has to do this… As much for the sake of humanity and Pokémon as for himself… So… Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?'

Gulping and clearing his throat, he threw the powder down, calling out "The Leaky Cauldron!" In a burst of flames, Harry found himself slipping and sliding through a chute…

And landed facedown on the ground in a tiny and empty little bar. Dumbledore helped him up, and Harry let Ralts out of his Pokéball. The Child Pokémon looked extremely ruffled.

That… was… crazy…

"You'll get used to it, in time…" Dumbledore assured Harry. "But for now, I'll get you a room. A man by the name of Hagrid will be here to pick you up tomorrow for your school supplies shopping. Try not to get recognized tonight, or else you'll never get any sleep. Until we deem the time right, the bartender will call you by the alias Revlis Dlog."

'Revlis' nodded, and put his hood up, shadowing his face and hiding his lightning-shaped scar and jet-black hair. "No problem!" Dumbledore smiled, a twinkle in his eye, and walked over to the Bartender, Tom, and introduced Revlis. Tom quickly set up a room for the young trainer, trying to ignore Ralts, who was sitting on Revlis' head. After all the arrangements were made, Dumbledore looked to Revlis.

"Now, I will head for Hogwarts, and alert the staff to where I have been for the last few hours or so..." Dumbledore took out some more of the mysterious powder he had produced earlier and burst again into flames. The Boy-Who-Lived-In-Disguise walked to his room, 25, and settled in for a good nights sleep…

* * *

"You know, I sort of thought about extending this chapter, but I feel like it's a good stopping point."

Harry: "… Revlis Dlog? That's a stupid pun."

"Hey, at least I'm TRYING to be slightly original about the alias."

Shadow: "I'm proud of you, James, for trying, and for finally updating."

"Yes! Now, back to Sonic Ad-"

Shadow: "You're forgetting something."

"Yes?"

"That other thing."

"… Oh, yeah!"

* * *

Omake: Coming Never!

"Welcome to 'Coming Never!', The area where I dump my useless Plot Bunnies! Today, I've got a HP/Naruto Crossover that I'm not willing to write because of the ridiculous length! Behold this snippet!"

* * *

Harry, 5 years old, sat on a swing at the park. As he rocked the swing, sadness, as well as anger and confusion, flowed through him. He hadn't MEANT to end up on the roof of the school. Yet, when he tried to explain, he just as quickly ended up in his cupboard under the stairs. This was his first day out in the sun in a week…

Why? He'd done nothing wrong… Right?

"What's the matter, Harry?" Harry jumped out of his swing, surprised by the sudden question. He hadn't even heard someone coming! The man before him, silhouetted by the setting sun, continued. "Look at you… As you are now, can you tell me with confidence… what your purpose is?" Harry looked at the man who walked towards him, his face hidden due to the lighting. He was afraid… but he was also curious. What did this man mean by 'purpose?' "I've been watching you, Harry, and I'm intrigued by what I see… Tell me, what binds you to those horrible relatives of yours?"

"They… I can't take care of myself, can I?"

"… So you stay with them because they are the source of your livelihood… But what if someone else offered you safety and comfort? Unfotunate… Left as is, you will die, a worthless sentence in history… but…" The man pondered for a moment, then outstretched his hand. "Come with me, Harry, and you will no longer be but a sentence… With my help…" The sun's light reflected on the sand, showing the man's pale, snake-like face framed by long black hair, and illuminating his yellow eyes. "You will be truly worth something."

* * *

"Ahh… That feels so much better… Now, anyone interested in using this plot for a full Fanfiction, have at it. I don't care. However, I'd like to see what someone other than me would do with just that idea. Now, I'll see you all later!"


	5. Of Infiltration

Pokémon Wizard

By James The Fox

"Lot's of new announcements for the readers today, so bear with me. If you don't care about what I've got to say, though, feel free to jump on down to the Fic. First off, I've not as much time as I'd like to do recreational activities, so I am, unfortunately, cutting down on Fanfiction. It sucks, a lot. Don't worry, I'm still going to be working on XIII Ninja and Pokémon Wizard. The others are, for now going on hiatus until Summer, when I will make my final decision as to which of them are to be revived, which will be adopted by willing authors (now accepting applicants) and which I'll end with a summary of the rest of the plot. Now, on to brighter news. Here I will have the first of the Interludes of the Pokémon Wizard. They are a series of mini-fics taking place in the PKMN Wizard Universe's canon, but not necessarily having anything to do with Harry. They are just for background. Beyond that, there's also a deviation on DeviantART that is, essentially, a list of various terms and phrases used in the Pokémon World that will serve as background to the PKMN Fanon. With this said, on to the Interlude, followed by the Fic!"

* * *

Interlude 1: Eternal Bonds

_Time: 12 Years before Harry's arrival in the Pokémon World_

_Trainer: Ash "The Fire-Red Master" Ketchum_

_Location: Above Route 132, En route to Pacifidlog Town._

* * *

"Are we sure of what you've heard?" Ash asked.

"I am certain. Few Pokémon lie to me, Ash," replied the Legendary Pokémon, Lugia. "And this one had no reason to do so."

"I hope you're right…" Ash replied. "I don't think she was ready for such a shock. Imagine what would happen if this turns out to be a hoax?"

"It is not." Lugia insisted. "Remember, I am a psychic type. I can see what others think. There was no lie in that Starmie's voice."

Ash's partner, Pikachu, nuzzled him. _I know he's obnoxious sometimes with his whole 'Lookit me, I'm a Legendary Pokémon' stuff, but he wouldn't downright lie "for the greater good," riiighht?_

Ash laughed at Pikachu's tone as Lugia growled warningly. "Do not make me throw you off, Pikachu."

Pikachu grinned and started making a mocking pose. _Ohhhhhh, I'm a psychic type Legendary Pokémon, the best kind there is! No one's better than me, because I'm __**special!**__ And you know what else? I- DEAR ARCEUS!_ Pikachu's taunting turned to screaming as Lugia suddenly swooped lower, lifted Pikachu by his tail with his psychic power and threw him into the water below. Lugia smirked, for lack of a better word, and used his psychic powers again, catching Pikachu right after he hit the waves, dropping him on the Legendary Bird's back. _By Ninetail's fourth tail, I didn't know you were serious!_ Pikachu cried out, shaking his body, getting water all over Ash.

"Am I ever not serious?" Lugia asked.

_Well there was that time when you… you… ummm… Oh wait! What about when… No, that was Wartortle… You really are a stick in the mud, you know that?_

Ash sighed. Those two got along well, usually, but when boredom reared its head, they just loved to argue about anything they could. He looked ahead, and saw the floating city, Pacifidlog Town. "There it is…"

Ash dismounted from Lugia, looking about the streets of logs. He considered himself lucky today. Usually, he'd be flooded by townspeople wanting to gawk at the famous Fire-Red Master, the strongest amongst the Grand Champions of the Pokémon World. Sometimes, someone would challenge him in the midst of that. While he normally would be happy to oblige, Ash had business to attend to.

"Hey, Ash! Long time no see!" The Master turned sharply in recognition. He had certainly grown a bit, but there was no mistaking the voice of Max, a boy he had traveled the Hoenn Region with several years ago. Behind him, a Gardevoir followed elegantly. Ash smiled as Pikachu ran over to the tall psychic type.

"So, you kept your promise to that Ralts, huh?" Ash asked.

"Yep! We were headed for the Johto League, but when we heard about this…"

Ash instantly sobered. "How is she taking it?"

"She's pretty excited, but she's also extremely nervous. Are you sure-"

"Lugia assured me that this is legit, but I can't help but be suspicious." Ash grimaced. "It's been years, now…"

"You need not worry," Lugia assured. "The Prince would not spread rumours about this as a joke. He desperately wishes to be with the one who raised him."

"It doesn't make sense, though…" came a voice from behind Ash. The Fire-Red Master turned halfway, looking eye to eye with Jack Walker. "Manaphy knows that he must watch over the Temple of the Sea. Why would his betray his duty?"

"For the same reason that I joined with Ash, of course," Lugia replied suddenly, its psychic matter-of-fact tone showing slight annoyance at the human. "Certainly, Manaphy has its responsibility to the Temple, and will periodically visit to make sure it is safe. However, as one of the Great Ones, he has another natural duty."

"Another natural duty?" Jack asked skeptically.

"**Do not** attempt to use a tone with me…" Lugia glared at Jack. "A long time ago, after the great defeat of Pokelantis at the hands of Ho-Oh and its human ally… It was decided that we, too, should follow the advice given to us so long ago… And so the ancient tradition of us Bonding to chosen humans for at least as long as either the Bonded human or ourselves lived was born.

"For some among us, our chosen is the first human we see. For others, like myself, we find ourselves allied to a human by what may seem to be chance. In any case, when we find that human, our instincts grant us the power to tell immediately, and so we do what we can to bond to that Human." Lugia seemed to sigh, as though this information was supposed to be common knowledge. "Certainly, you have read the ancient manuscripts?"

Jack was silent. In seconds, Lugia remained extraordinarily calm, though Ash could tell it had lost its patience. After all, Lugia's greatest pet peeve was unknowledgeable people, especially when it comes to the ancient legends.

"You have not, it seems. I believe it is available at the Canalave City Library. You would do well to read it, as well as the other books on the subject located there, before you attempt to interfere in anything the Great Ones do. By rights, Manaphy should have returned to his Bonded human within a few days of arriving at the temple."

_Oh boy. Lugia's almost got that 'I'm a freaking god and I'm going to vaporize you' voice going on again… That does not bode well for Jackie there._ Pikachu muttered, looking at Gardevoir.

"He has a voice like that?" Gardevoir asked.

_Yeah, and trust me: being on the receiving end of it is far worse than listening to a Fearow while its PELSing. You might get Aero Blasted._

"Oh dear." Gardevoir simply stared at the Legendary Pokémon. Ash also seemed to have noticed the anger in Lugia's voice, and set out to try and stifle the oncoming obliteration. He would HATE to be the one to explain to the Ranger Committee why one of their finer agents was reduced to dust floating on the ocean currents…

"H-hey… He knows now, and when we're done here, he'll be sure to read from the library until he's got all of those legends down! Riiiiiiight?" Ash asked, looking at Jack with panic in every nerve of his muscles. Jack apparently got the cue.

"Of course! By the time I'm finished, I'll be the most knowledgeable ranger around!" As Lugia turned away and shuffled about similarly to a bird that had its feathers ruffled, Ash leaned to whisper in Jack's ear.

"I hope you mean it, because Lugia tends to get dangerously annoyed about these things. Apparently, his generation was very old fashioned. The first thing I did when he first went on one of his rants was enroll in the nearest Pokémon Mythology Class I could find."

"Thanks for the tip," Jack replied as Ash noticed two other familiar faces. Brock, ex-gym leader, and Misty, Ash's girlfriend and the Gym Leader of Cerulean City's gym waved to him as they walked over the floating logs. Dismissing himself from the Ranger, Ash ran over to his old friends, Pikachu dashing much farther than him and leaping atop Misty's head.

"Good to see ya, Brock!" Ash said, shaking hands with the Breeder. "How are things going, Misty?" Ash hugged the redhead.

"As well as can be expected, Ash. No real challenges at the gym…"

"That's too bad," Ash sighed. "So, where's May?"

"Waiting on the boat, practicing with her Pokémon. What with the Grand Festival approaching again…"

"At least she's keeping busy…" Ash turned to Misty. "Man, you're in for a sight. The Temple of the Sea, if it rises, is amazing to view… Hey, Brock, go to the boat and tell Kai we're ready to sail. Tel him to just follow Lugia." Ash ran over to Lugia, who lowered himself for his trainer to get on. Pikachu stayed on Misty's head, wary of Lugia's wrath. A few minutes saw the Legendary Pokémon leading a small ship west.

"How odd… the currents are usually quite powerful here…" Kai, one of the descendants of the People of Water and one of the ones present for the last rising of the Temple, couldn't help but gape at the still waters they sailed through. "This must be either the power of Lugia… or that of the Prince of the Sea…"

A young girl stood at the rim of the ship, watching Ash and Lugia fly ahead. This was the girl who, long ago, had served as Manaphy's "mother," helping him get to the Temple in the first place. Now, as she headed to see her "child" once more, May couldn't help but remember the events of those days. What if, she asked herself for the hundredth time, this whole deal with Manaphy wanting to return was just a joke? No, May countered her doubts, Ash didn't mess around on things like this. But maybe the information was incorrect…?

"Worried?" Misty asked.

"Yeah… I'm not sure whether everything that's happening now… whether it's just a dream or… or if it's real."

"I have no doubt it is... Eh?" Pikachu almost fell from his dozing perch atop Misty's head when Lugia and the Boat came to a sudden stop.

_Arceus' Judgement! I was just about to sleep!_ Pikachu raged at Lugia. _You fucking did that on purpose!_

"I did no such thing." Lugia retorted. "We are here. At dusk, the Temple of the Sea will rise again from the depths."

And the waiting began, as Lugia dropped Ash off on the boat before sitting in the ocean, floating lazily. The trainers released their Pokémon so they could have some fresh air, and had a light lunch made by Brock. Seeing his friends talking and laughing, Ash couldn't help but go back to the many years he spent traveling the world, eventually becoming Pokémon Master, then one of the Great Four Masters. He unzipped his jacket, looking at the shiny badge he felt he had obtained only a short time ago. It was simple, just in the shape of a Pokéball. The red top half seemed to change all the time, moving like living flames, and in the center was a stylized M, not unlike the Unown in shape, on the part resembling the button on all Pokéballs. He remembered being told that the Firered Badge had been passed down for generations on end, a symbol of courage and determination to reach one's goals. 'To think,' he reflected, 'all of that hard work, symbolized by this little thing…'

Time passed quickly, though everyone wished it would go faster, and before too long, Ash saw the sun hit the horizon. A few seconds passed, and Lugia spoke for the first time in hours:

"It's coming." No sooner had he said it, that all of the Pokémon that were playing in the water quickly got out, scrambling into the boat or their Pokéballs. Quickly, magnificently, the Temple of the Sea penetrated the surface, creating tidal waves that didn't capsize the boat only because Lugia used his psychic powers to divert them. Misty stared at the building, amazed by its size.

"Something that big… was right under us?" Misty muttered in shock.

"Told ya you'd be in for a sight!" Ash grinned. His smile became even bigger as he noticed a familiar face heading straight for the boat, popping in and out of the water at high speeds. "And what'd you know!? He probably got out right before the Temple rose, he was so impatient," Ash laughed.

"Manaphy?" May stared, tears in her eyes. The legendary water type heard the sound, and fired himself out of the ocean hard enough for him to cover the entire distance, more than three yards, all the way to the boat. Manaphy landed in May's arms, and both toppled over, landing on the ground.

"See? You had nothing to worry about," Ash said as May and Manaphy hugged, then gasped as Blaziken, May's starter Pokémon, lifted both up in an embrace. May's Beautifly, Delcatty, and Wartortle also joined in, and it took both Gardevoir and Lugia using their psychic powers to keep the boat afloat as her Snorlax came out of his Pokéball, grabbing the entire group in a bear hug.

"Wow…" Ash muttered as he watched the spectacle. "Talk about a happy ending, huh?" '… A reunion 5 years in the making… Good for them, heh!'

* * *

_Unweakened by Space…_

_Untarnished by Time…_

_Unbeaten by Death…_

_It is these friendships that will forever hold a place in our heart._

_These are Eternal Bonds._

* * *

Chapter 4: Of Infiltration

Tohjo Falls. A landmark, one of the biggest waterfalls the Pokémon World has ever known. Hundreds of thousands of people visited the site every day, for various reasons.

Some came as tourists, viewing one of the greatest marvels of nature around.

Some came as travelers, for the falls were located on the safest road from the Johto Region to the Kanto Region.

Some came as challengers, for it was from here that both the Indigo Plateau and Mt Silver Pokémon Leagues could be held.

And even now, two come as heroes-to-be, for it was hidden in these falls that the secret lair of the evil organization CIPHER.

* * *

"Kangaskhan, MEGA PUNCH!" That sudden noise only added to the current chaos at the Tohjo Base, as both Pokémon Officers and CIPHER members gaped as the nearby door flew over them, hitting a wall on the far end of the 60 ft long hallway. The battling criminals and law enforcement had but a second to turn back to the open path as Khangaskhan rampaged into the room, swinging a meaty arm downward, crushing a CIPHER Grunt's Fearow simply because it was in the way. Riding on the larger-than-average Parent Pokemon's pouch was a baby Kangaskhan and Lily Prongs, Champion of the Sinnoh League.

"Now, SURF!" Lily called out, and the law enforcement quickly made for the sides of the hall, returning their Pokémon and clinging for dear life as a wave of water came from behind Kangaskhan. The CIPHER Grunts attempted this, only to be stunned by an electric wave.

"Nice job, Rotom! Return!" Called James Prongs, withdrawing a stove-like ghost Pokémon. James rode atop a blue avian Pokémon with cloud-like wings. Meanwhile, the CIPHER agents were blown to the back of the hall, they and their Pokémon knocked out from the impact. "Overdoing it much, Lily?" He asked, glancing at the carnage and stunned looks of the police force.

"Maybe, but Kangaskhan really hasn't had the chance to stretch lately." Lily replied. "I think becoming champion was the worst idea I've ever had. No one wants to battle me, except maybe in the Battle Zone…"

"No kidding, but that doesn't mean you have to use overkill like that," James retorted, jumping to the ground as Lily withdrew Altaria and Kangaskhan.

"Fine, then you can have the next bunch."

"Thanks," James pulled out two Pokéballs. "Go, Arcanine, Rapidash!"

From the first Pokéball came a large beast most similar to a dog and a lion, it exhaled, fire flaring from its nostrils. As the second Pokéball opened, a flash of energy accompanied the appearance of a large unicorn-like Pokémon with gray flames flowing from where its mane and tail should be. James leaped to ride Rapidash, as Arcanine lowered itself to be ridden by Lily.

"Okay, boys, time to shine." James pointed to a door on the far right. "Rapidash, use Megahorn on that door!"

As Rapidash crashed through the door, Lily muttered to herself, "Now who's overdoing it?"

* * *

So this cycle went for a few hours. It seemed that the Government agents had only gotten into the first room, and had been stuck there until the Prongs couple had arrived. As their Pokémon were much faster and stronger than the Police's Pokémon, they were quickly plumbing the depths of the base.

That is, until they came to the Shadow Pokémon Chamber.

James and Lily walked through the room with their Pokemon, staring at the horrors about them. For as far as they could see into the darkness, there were cages, and the cries of Pokémon undergoing the process of becoming Shadow Pokémon could be heard.

_Wh… who are you?_ Asked an Oddish from behind the bars of a cage too small even for it. Next to it, a Vileplume woke in response to its child's question. It looked at Lily's Gardevoir.

_What are you… Are you here to stop them? Please, I don't care what happens to me, but save my daughter! Please! Get her away from here!_

In the distance, a piercing scream came from a Flareon. _IT HURTS! NO MORE! NO MORE! PLEASE!_

A Butterfree clung to the wall of its cage, and Lily could make out a small yellow scarf.

_You can't stay! This is… They're turning us into Hurt Ones! _An Azumarill warned. Again, the Flareon reached a higher decibel, its voice more shrill than before.

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…! _The Vileplume looked looked with pleading eyes towards the Trainers and their Pokémon.

_Please, save my daughter! I don't… _Suddenly, a crane hovered over the Vileplumes cage, moving down to pick it up. _Oh, Arceus, no, no! NO! _Vileplume cried out in horror as it was carried away. The Flareon's cries had ended. A battered and bruised Lucario was kneeling and trembling in the near pitch darkness. It was muttering a mantra to itself.

… _Please let Veruka be okay… _A few cages away, a Togekiss made similar pleas.

_I hope my trainer is okay…_

"This is… terrible," Lily said, stunned in sheer shock. She had been expecting the place where Shadow Pokémon are made to be bad, but this was worse than she could have imagined. It reminded her too heavily of the Muggle containment camps Voldemort had used… "At least Voldemort's camps gave Muggles some room to move…"

_AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH!_

"We have to get them out of here…" James said. "… Go, Sudowoodo, Rotom, Girafarig, Arcanine, Rapidash!" He released his Pokémon quietly, having them join Stantler. "Stay alert. We need to get as many of these guys out of here as possible, preferably without attracting attention…"

"But what will happen when their cranes come back with nothing?"

"You know how the old saying goes, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

"Am I right to believe that you are here now to rescue these Pokémon?" Both James and Lily turned to the new voice. A man in a light brown coat, dark brown tuxedo and dress pants of similar color revealed himself in the Rapidash's white light. His neat black hair and serious brown eyes spoke volumes of his professionalism. "Agent Looker, Global Police. I do not remember individuals as yourself being part of our investigation plan. You are Lily Prongs, the Champion of the Sinnoh League, yes?"

"Yes."

"What purpose have you to fight CIPHER?"

Lily listened to the cries of the Vileplume that had been taken away. Her eyes hardened.

"What reason do I need? What they're doing is wrong, and I'm not going to stand for it."

"Ah. Of course. Then, you must move on ahead."

"But what about-"

"I will see to it that these Pokémon are not harmed. You must find the commander in charge of this base."

"Do you have enough Pokémon to protect you?"

"Not currently, but soon. I requested the Fire-Red Master himself to deal with this base and he will be here presently."

"Good to hear. We'll go on ahead, then. Take care." Lily withdrew Gardevoir and released Altaria from the Pokéball.

"Wait! Before you go, I have this for you." Looker gave James a map. "This map, it is the layout for this base."

"Thanks," James said, withdrawing everyone except Rapidash. "Follow me, Lily!" At once, the duo rushed to the control room.

* * *

"ICE BEAM!" "MEGAHORN!" The final door between the Prongs and the Commander shattered as Altaria and Rapidash landed in the room. On the opposite side of the room stood an old man in a Tuxedo and a beard that touched the floor.

'That's a bigger beard even than Dumbledore's!' was the first thought that crossed the Prong's minds. 'But it looks like he sacrificed his head hair for it…'

"So, you're the rats who have been trampling my subordinates! But now, you battle the Shadow Minister, Blodathe! He will not fall to heathens such as yourself!" The man reached back to a small hole in the wall, and two Pokéballs popped out. "Now, my Shadow Pokémon! To ruin!" He threw the Pokéballs, and out came a Pink Butterfree along with a Flareon.

'The same Flareon that we heard earlier?' Lily speculated, jumping from Altaria's back. "Altaria, GO!" James withdrew Rapidash.

"Let's go, Sudowoodo!" James released Sudowoodo.

_Hurt Ones…_ Altaria muttered.

_And fresh ones, too,_ Sudowoodo replied.

_It has been a long time since Pokelantis… And yet history does, in fact, repeat itself._ Altaria mourned.

"Now, Earthquake!" James called out.

_Well, the past has one difference from now… now we can do somethin' bout this!_ Sudowoodo smirked as he stomped into the ground, causing the room to shake. Fissures opened all over and closed just as quickly, and the two Shadow Pokémon were bowled over. Flareon, however, took the brunt of the damage, and roared in anger.

"XD 296, Shadow Fire! XD 295, Shadow Rave!" Flareon breathed a dark fire from its mouth, narrowing missing Altaria, while Butterfree went waves of darkness forth from itself, hitting both Altaria and Sudowoodo, knocking both down.

"Altaria! No time to hold back! DRACO METEOR!" Altaria narrowed his eyes.

_I am sorry, but this is how it must be! _Altaria screeched and gathered energy into a ball at its talons. It then flapped hard, shattering the ball into several smaller balls, which flew quickly at Butterfree, knocking it to the ground.

"Ice Beam!" Altaria followed up with a beam of energy, which resulted in Butterfree freezing up.

"Got you… eh?" Butterfree broke free of the ice, and at the Minister's command, flew straight at Altaria with Shadow Rush, knocking the Dragon-type into the wall.

_My wing!_ Altaria cried out, collapsing in a heap, blood streaming from his left wing.

Meanwhile, Sudowoodo threw itself at Flareon in a Double Edge, only barely noting that due to its Rock Head, it wouldn't have to worry about recoil. It knocked Flareon head over heels, and followed up with Wood Hammer, slamming its arm down upon the fire-type. Flareon, however, retaliated with a point blank Shadow Fire, scorching even Sudowoodo's rock hide with the dark energy it was using. Sudowoodo collapsed.

"Finish them all!" the Minister growled. "SHADOW STORM!" Butterfree created a tornado of shadows, sweeping up both Sudowoodo and Altaria. Lily and James also found themselves lifted of their feet, sucked into the vortex. When the attack ended, Sudowoodo was down, but struggling to get up.

_Altaria, you okay?_

Altaria laid a good distance away, cotton wing stained red with bones poking out in places. Their trainers were unconscious, and James had a broken leg.

_Shit! I won't stay down like this!_ Sudowoodo growled as Flareon and Butterfree neared, about to land the killing blow. Altaria woke, saw the Shadow Pokémon, and as a last ditch effort, fired an Ice Beam at Butterfree, putting his all into the attack. This time, Butterfree stayed down and frozen, but Flareon and the Minister both redirected their attention to the Dragon type.

"Hmm… maybe you aren't so weak after all… maybe it would be worth making you into a Shadow Pokémon… Yes…"

_Not if I can help it!_ Sudowoodo slammed his one good arm into the ground in one more Earthquake, knocking the Flareon over. _I won't let you hurt my friends!_ He raised his arm for one more attack, but stopped as he heard something approaching...

…_yayayayayayayayayayaYAYAYAYA YAYAAAAAAAAA!_ A blazing streak of electricity burst into the room, plowing right into the Flareon, sending it flying through the opposite wall. Pikachu landed from the attack, and stroked his nose_. Heh. A regular Deus ex Machina, I am!_ Ash Ketchum, the Fire-Red Master, entered as well, followed by a gray haired man in a blue trenchcoat and an odd device attached to his right arm and a girl in a tank top and skirt.

"Seems there was quite a battle…" the gray-haired trainer commented. "Rui?"

"Gotcha, Wes. The Butterfree and the Flareon are Shadow Pokémon," Rui replied.

"Then I'll deal with them," Wes pulled out two Pokéballs, grasping one firmly with his right hand. It glowed for a moment, and he threw it. "Snag Ball, Go!" At once, the Butterfree was caught. Wes repeated this with Flareon, keeping an eye on Ash as he and Pikachu cornered the Minister.

"It's over!" the Fire-Red Master said. "By the authority vested in me by the Global Police Force, you're under arrest."

"I don't think so…" Blodath pressed a tile on the wall behind him, and it revolved quickly, with him vanishing inside the secret passage.

"Drat!" "Shit!" Ash and Wes looked at each other, raising an eyebrow at their respective explicatives.

"… We should worry about him later," Ash said. "These guys need to be brought to a hospital."

"Agreed. Metagross, time for action." Wes released a large metal creature with four legs. "Use your magnetic powers to rip out four strips of metal big enough to serve as stretchers…"

* * *

"Ugh… what happened?" James asked, finding himself in the room where Shadow Pokémon were being made. It was now much brighter, and sounds could be heard all about.

"You fought a CIPHER Commander, and almost won," came a voice to his right. "… While we were busy rounding up the CIPHER members we could, the Commander got away, along with all of the Shadow Pokémon the base had made… except for two, that is." The last statement seemed much happier than the previous. "I'll be taking care the Butterfree, and the Flareon's original trainer is coming for it."

About him, he could hear the sounds of Pokémon and humans, mainly happy voices.

"Elekid, it's so good to see you!"

"Vincent! Oh, Arceus, I feared the worst!"

"Fire-Red, I've got a situation…" came a new voice that was getting close.

"Hm?" Came the voice from James' right.

_Mommy…_

"It's this Oddish. It was taken from the wild…"

"Why don't we just release it back to the wild, then?"

"That's the problem. We've tried that outside, but it won't move. Won't even ingrain itself… Our Alakazam says that it had a mother here, a Vileplume… But we're pretty sure that the mother is… The Oddish is a newborn, I doubt it could survive alone normally…"

_Mommy…_

"… I see. Leave it with me. I know someone who might be able to get it a good home…"

"Understood, sir."

"Oh, also, I'd like you to call my mom. Tell her I'll be a bit late for dinner."

"Understood, sir."

It slowly dawned on James that this voice was none other than Fire-Red Ash, one of the Four Great Masters. 'That's right… that Looker bloke said he had called for him…' "Er, Fire-Red?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where my wife and our Pokémon are?"

"Ah… The Sinnoh Champ, right? Don't worry, she's resting right now… and your Pokémon are as well. You were injured pretty bad… They've found a way to make Shadow Pokémon much stronger, it seems…" James could hear the sounds of a pen hitting paper. "… Do you know how many Pokémon you saved, today?"

"Huh?"

"517 Pokémon, 389 Wild, 128 Trained. You also gave us a chance to restore two Shadow Pokémon, one Wild, and one Trained… And I owe you a debt of gratitude, since the Wild one is an old friend of mine."

"… No problem. I mean, you saved us…"

"Your Pokémon battled admirably. Even with a badly broken wing and a bunch of broken limbs respectively, your Pokémon were able to stay conscious and even beat both Shadow Pokémon, albeit with Pikachu's help."

_I'd bet that Sudowoodo had one more Earthquake in him, and was about to finish the battle anyway. I'd love to battle them sometime, _Pikachu quipped.

"…"

"Actually, I'd like to ask you… would you be willing to be an honorary member of the Global Police? We could use strong trainers like you."

"I'm not sure… I'd have to talk it over with my wife…"

"Well, then, I won't bother you. I'm actually on my way to Pallet Town, so you'll know where to find me if you have an answer. 31151 Lightning Way, Pallet Town. OR ask around at the Battleground in the Battle Zone. Give them your name, and they'll let you two in." With that, Fire-Red walked off.

'… Hmm… Global Police, huh?'

* * *

"Well, there's a new chapter, much later than I wish it was… Dear Arceus, 12:03 AM already!? I don't even feel tired!"

Harry: "Where the hell am I?"

"Still asleep. That's right, all this has happened over the course of one night. Regardless, Back to Harry next time."

Shadow: "Can't help but notice the shout outs you made this chapter."

"Yeah… I feel campy and serious at the same time. Don't expect this to be the last you've seen of just about any of these characters. They can come back at any time…"

Blodath: "Like right now!"

"… No."

Manaphy: "Waterfall to the face, biatch!"

Blodath: "Looks like I'm blasting off again… wait, I've never blasted off befooooreeeee!"

"Anyway, you'd be surprised at how many references I had to have open in other windows while I wrote this. I have a list of Pokémon Used by all Harry Potter Characters, complete with their movesets and Gender, and when they're gotten in the story… A list of moves Shadow Pokémon use, a map of the Pokémon World with the names of various locations, a self-made list of slang used in the Pokémon World (found on my DevART account, search Pokémon Wizard), and the previous chapters of the _story itself_. I'm a nerd for feeling obligated to stick this close to the plot of the Pokémon World. Lucky for me, JK Rowling really didn't give James and Lily a whole lot of screen time, so I am mostly free to pretty much go wild with their personalities. Yay! Anyway, I'm out. Can you DIGLETT?" (Shot)


	6. Of Alleys

Pokèmon Wizard

By James The Fox

"... Not much to say except that College is a pain and Moving is just as big a pain. I've had this story almost finished since I last updated XIII Ninja. Happy New Year, and Happy belated Quanmannukuh Day. Here's my gift to you, a new POKEMON WIZARD! On to the Fic!"

Shantotto Claus: "Oh~ Ho Ho Ho!"

* * *

Chapter 5: Of Alleys

Harry grinned as he got out of bed the next morning, and remembered the events of the day before.

"Hehe… guess I can't say I'm not impulsive, huh?" He released his Pokèmon from their Pokèballs.

_Morning already…?_ Ralts rubbed under its hat, flicking away the gunk under his eyes.

_S-s-s-so, w-w-what are we d-d-d-doing today? _A small, triangular Pokèmon wearing an orange blanket over her body asked, shivering despite the relative warmth of the room she was in.

_Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…_ Harry's Hoothoot stood on the sole table in the room, switching legs with invisible speed, despite being asleep.

_Ungh… headache…_ Tyrogue wavered where he stood, rubbing his head.

_Swoosh!_ A small, slippery Pokèmon bounced on the ground, waving its stubby wings. A ring of water appeared around her, and Ralts used its psychic power to mold the ever-increasing amount of water into a ball for the Mantyke to swim in. _Whoosh!_

_Uh… A little help?_ A small, silver fish flopped about. Harry picked the Remoraid up and put him into the Water Ball. _Thanks._

Harry rummaged through his bag, and pulled out a smaller bag of Pokèmon Food. "Time for you guys to eat!" He poured food into four bowls, then into the floating water bubble. Hoothoot woke, hopped to her meal, ate it quickly, and hopped back to her previous position, falling asleep immediately. Harry watched the other Pokèmon consume their meal. "Okay, guys, we had a big change in plans yesterday. Essentially, I found out who my parents were: Wizards."

_You mean, like, actual wizards? _Remoraid asked. _The banished ones gifted by Arceus?_

_Yeah, actual wizards. Turns out he was also signed up to a wizard school at birth, or something…_ Ralts scratched his head. _I was there, and it was weird… I don't like the school's headmaster, though. He's an idiot. _Remoraid raised an eyebrow at this, and decided to continue listening to Harry's explanation.

"Anyway, now I'm going to be going to a wizarding school, some place called Hogwarts. I'm getting supplies for school today, so not much is going to be happening. You guys play nice while I'm gone. There's a tub over there for you guys, Mantyke, Remoraid. Take it easy, Tyrogue. No one wake Hoothoot up. Don't mess the room up, and don't open the door for strangers, okay?"

_Right!_ The various Pokémon replied, nodding as they did. Ralts set Mantyke and Remoraid in the bathtub, and walked over to jump on Harry's shoulder, and the young trainer went downstairs to grab a bite to eat. The bartender was nice, and gave Harry his order, stating that it was being put on Dumbledore's tab. Harry took this into account and politely ordered a modestly priced breakfast. As he ate, he watched all sorts of people, presumably witches and wizards, come in and out of the bar through the fireplace and two different entryways. The people walking in from the fireplace were dressed like the old man Harry had come in with earlier, albeit with varying degrees of adornments to their clothing, while the people coming from what Harry could only assume was the front door wearing more ordinary shirts, pants, shoes, and hats. Harry could quickly tell who were the rich, finely clothed nobles and government officials gossiping about world events and how the events affect the gold in their coffers, and the common witch and wizard with their families, talking about their children and the future of their household.

"… eleven years old now… wonder if… will be… the school year begins?"

The only common gossip amongst them concerned Harry's disappearance at the age of three. There was talk of what kind of person he'd be, and if he'd even be found before the school year began. Harry almost laughed, but kept his alias as Revlis Dlog in effect. After about half an hour, Ralts started panicking at the sight of something. Harry turned his attention to the Fireplace as an excessively large person walked into the room.

_HE'S HUGE! Did they continuously inject him with Miltank Milk since he was born?_ Ralts asked, openly gaping at the ragged-looking man. Harry hushed Ralts with a finger to his lip, and tried to make out what he was saying to the barkeep. However, it seemed that there was no need, as the Barkeep pointed in Harry's direction and the whale of a man thanked him before walking towards Harry's table.

"Er, Revlis Dlog?" The man asked. There was something about his gruff but gentle voice, some kind of accent Harry couldn't make out.

_I think I'm going to wet myself._ Ralts muttered.

"Yes, that's me. I guess that Dumbledore guy sent you?"

"Yeah… It's been years since I last saw yeh. You were just a babe… You've grown up."

"That sort of happens in 11 years, huh?" Harry replied, blushing.

"Yes, well…Name's Rubeus Hagrid, but ev'rybody just calls me Hagrid. Today, it's my job to guide yeh about Diagon Alley as you get yer school supplies." Harry quickly finished what was left of the biscuits he had ordered, and followed Hagrid to the same room he had seen a particularly lost-looking group consisting of two parents and their curious-looking brown-haired daughter being led into the other entryway to parts unknown by a stern-looking old woman. Through the passageway, he found a plain, empty room. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh… Are you sure that this is the right way?" Harry asked as Hagrid walked up to a wall, rummaging through his many coat pockets. After dredging up, in order, a crossbow, several keys of varying colors and degrees of rust, a book called From Egg to Inferno: a Dragon-Keeper's Guide, bolts for the crossbow, a cat, a kitchen sink, a knife, dog food, ANOTHER coat…

"How much stuff can those things hold?" Harry asked.

"A lot." Hagrid replied.

… A flute, another ring of keys, a box of odd pentagram-shaped cards with moving pictures on them, and…

"Aha!" Hagrid called triumphantly as he pulled out an umbrella. He put the rest of his stuff in his pockets and gazed at the wall. "Let's see… Three up, two across… Here!" As Hagrid tapped said brick, Harry and Ralts could only gape as the wall parted in an amazing way, brick by brick. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

Harry knew he would need either several days or amazing speed to see all of the attractions, just by looking. Clothing shops, book stores, restaurants, potion shops, and who knew what else greeted him, luring him in to buy their wares…

If only he had the money. "Hey, Hagrid, I just realized… er… I don't think Pokèdollars are compatible currency…"

Hagrid guffawed. "Well, good thing that's not all yeh got! Yeh didn't think your parents left you with nothin, did yeh?"

"Well…"

"Heheh! Don't worry, Revlis. Gringotts Bank is our first stop!" Harry followed Hagrid down the Alley, and found himself before a large, pristine marble building with the aforementioned name conveniently located on the front of it. Harry walked up to the door, and noted words inscribed on the building:

"So this is the Wizard's Bank..." Harry muttered as he opened the bronze doors only to find a silver set awaiting him. "Silver doors? They look a bit… I don't know, expensive… '_Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take, but do not earn, must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors a treasure that was never yours, thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there…'_"

"Yeh'd be bonkers ter try an' rob it, especially considering it's run by Goblins… Word of advice: don't mess with Goblins… They tend to mess with yeh back. Makes them really reliable bankers, heh."

Once past those doors, Harry saw an army of small, Abra-like creatures walking about, carrying paperwork, scales, keys, and other various kinds of objects, walking in and out of more doors than harry could count. Harry looked about the counters, viewing these creatures at their work. Harry followed Hagrid to a counter, where one of the Abra-like creatures was writing something. The Goblin lowered his glasses, and asked:

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah," Hagrid replied. "We've come ter visit Mr. Harry Potter's vault."

The Goblin eyed Harry for but a second, before asking, "Do you have his key, sir?"

"Yeah… Somewhere." Hagrid rummaged about again, this time finding a bunch of dog biscuits, a pillow, a cake (which he promptly presented to Harry as a birthday gift), and a single, shiny gold key. "'Ere it is… Oh, yeah!" Hagrid pulled out a letter. "This is about the… well, yeh know… in Vault 713." The goblin read the paper and nodded.

"Very well… Griphook!" another Goblin walked up to the group. "These two need to visit Vaults 687 and 713. I have a key and authorization." Griphook nodded curtly, and Harry followed him through one of the doors.

"So… how long have you worked here, sir?" Harry asked Griphook as they walked through dark corridors, going deeper all the time. The goblin turned his head and gave a quizzical look to Harry. "Er, sorry, a personal question?"

"… about 46 years."

"That's amazing." Harry scratched his head. "You must have a great deal of stories."

"… Not as many as our president. 120 years, still working."

Harry could only gape. "120 years? I really hope he gets vacations or something…"

"He also forges great metal items and weapons." Harry frowned for a moment at the mention of weapons, but it quickly faded as he replied.

"Sounds like a really hard working guy…" Harry noticed a cart siting on tracks.

"Climb aboard, please, and hang on tight." Harry clambered aboard, and Ralts sat in Harry's lap, both hanging on to the bars placed in front of their seat.

_I wonder how fast this thing gOHDEARCEUS! _Ralts screamed at the top of his voice as the cart sped off. It felt like minutes before the cart stopped.

"Key, please." Griphook asked as he got out of the cart, walking towards a large door. Hagrid gave the key to the goblin, then proceeded to retch, green in the face. Harry watched as the doors opened, revealing more gold, silver, and bronze than he had ever seen before.

"Whoa… That's… a lot of money…" Harry murmured, looking about. Aside from the coins, Harry could see a trophy, a few finely crafted sticks of wood, books of all colors and sizes (most notably a maroon book as tall as Harry was), and several objects Harry couldn't identify. His parents were obviously extraordinarily rich, by his estimate. "What the heck did my parents do for a living!"

"Most of the stuff here was inherited from yer grandparents. As fer yer parents, they didn't have time to develop a career, what with the War an' all. Though, Lily was always so good at potions, she'd have made a great teacher…"

Harry looked up from a shelf of books on varying subjects. "You knew them?"

"O'course, but that's a tale for another day," Hagrid said as he put a bunch of coins into a bag. "Here! This should hold ya for a year." He threw the bag to Harry, and he caught it easily. "Huh… yeh've got pretty good reflexes there. Maybe yeh should try out for Quidditch next year."

"Quidditch?" Harry asked.

"The official sport of the Wizarding World. Like football, only on broomsticks."

Harry tilted his head, puzzled. '… football?'

"… You've heard of football, right?"

"… Nope."

"Then I guess yeh've got lots to learn!" Hagrid laughed as the two left the vault, Harry hefting a small bag of coins in his right hand and a bunch of old but neat books, including a small notebook with the title A Muggle-Born's Guide to the Magical World by Lily Evans scrawled on it under his arm. Another ride on the cart left them even deeper in the caves.

"Whoa," Harry marveled at the unique structure of the caves. "… How did you guys make caves this deep?"

"They've been here for longer than Gringotts," Griphook replied. "We've made additions here and there, but only small ones, like extra vaults."

"From the subtle patterns on the walls and deepness of the caves… I'd almost say a bunch of Dugtrio made them…" Harry mused to himself. He turned his attention to the Vault ahead. It had no lock, unlike his. Griphook walked up to the door and stroked it with one finger. At once, the door began to melt away, as though it had been made of liquid metal just barely holding itself in place.

"Haha… For your reference, boy, if anyone other than a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked into the room, and there'd be no way out."

"That's a pretty cool defense… When do you guys check for intruders?"

"About once every… heheh… ten years." Griphook replied as the door finally vanished. The room, indeed, seemed much plainer than the uniquely-patterned caverns outside, leading Harry to believe that, yes, these caves had originally been made by Dugtrio during the time before the split between the Pokèmon World and the rest of earth. In the center of the room, a single grubby bag laid awkwardly. Hagrid picked it up and stuffed it deep, deep, in his pocket, to the point that Harry just knew there would be no way anyone would ever see it again.

A few minutes later, Harry released Ralts from his Pokèball and walked into the summer sun, blinking furiously as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden light. As he walked a few steps from the bank, he bumped into someone, hitting the ground. "Oh, sorry," Harry hastily said, getting up and helping the girl he had bumped into. She was about his age, with bushy brown hair everywhere.

"It's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going…" The girl apologized, showing her large set of front teeth.

_A Human Bidoof!_ Ralts muttered, pointing at the girl.

"Um, my name is Hermione." Hermione said, extending a hand.

"Nice to meet you, Hermione. You can call me Revlis." Harry grinned, noticing Hermione's various school supplies. "You're going to Hogwarts, too?"

"Er, yeah." Hermione replied as three people walked up to Hermione.

"I told you to not get overexcited," the single man in the group, likely her father, said.

"It's alright, sir," Harry smiled.

"Revlis, who are yeh- oh, 'ello, Professor." Hagrid shook hands with an stern, elderly woman.

The "Professor" eyed Harry before replying. "Taking… Revlis to get his school supplies, Hagrid?"

"Yeah, we just got the funds from Gringotts."

"We were headed to get miss Granger's uniform."

Hagrid smiled. "Ah, well, we might as well go there as well, eh, Revlis? Get to know your friend a little better…" Harry walked with the new group to Madam Milkin's Robes for All Occasions. Hermione noticed Ralts riding on Harry's shoulder.

"Is that a pet wizards normally have?" She asked. Ralts looked appalled.

_Hey, Bidoof-face, I'm no pet!_ He raved, waving and pointing at Hermione angrily. _I should use my Magical Leaf on you for even considering such a thing!_

Harry hushed Ralts. "Er, no, he's not. He's from my homeland, and he's part of my family. Raised him from birth. He's called Ralts." Harry picked Ralts off of his shoulder. "You can hold him, if you like."

Hermione held Ralts carefully, and he looked at her. "Wow, you're kind of cute, Ralts."

_Yeah, I get that a lot. Cute, suave, and cool as Regice._ Ralts replied, smirking devilishly while his teeth glinted in the sun.

Harry watched as Hermione let Ralts sit on her shoulder. "He's one of hundreds of kinds of Pokèmon. Where I come from, they live and work with humans. Some have them as pets..."

_I'm not one of those!_ Ralts muttered, pouting.

"... others travel with them and compete with others like themselves…" As Harry started giving a summary of the Pokèmon World to her and the Granger parents were chattering amongst themselves, Hagrid talked extremely quietly with Hermione's guide.

"So, that's him?" Professor Minerva McGonagall, Gryffindor's head of house, took great care not to mention "Revlis'" real name.

Hagrid smiled. "Yeah, that's him. He's quite the odd one... I've never seen clothing quite like that, even among Muggles."

"Well, he has been living in a world that's been separated from ours for so long. As far as we know, he may think us as strange as we do him..." Minerva frowned. "I hope he'll fit in alright."

"Don't worry," Hagrid replied. "As strange as he is, he's still a kid, right? He'll be fine. An' look!" He glanced at Harry and Hermione, who were engaged in a conversation about the Wizarding World's many oddities. "He's already gettin' along perfectly with your charge." The entourage walked into Madam Milkin's store, and the short, cheery woman in a mauve dress walked quite quickly up to them.

"Hogwarts, dears?" She asked before even one of them spoke up. "Haha, of course you are. It's so wonderful to see you again, Rubeus, Minerva. How are your clothes? Anything I can get you while you wait?"

"No, no," McGonagall smiled. "Just some robes for these two," she motioned towards Harry and Hermione.

"Of course, of course," she laughed. "I've been so busy lately. The Longbottom's youngest just left, and I have an appointment with the Malfoys in about an hour... But enough about that. Come with me, er..."

"Revlis Dlog," Harry smiled as Ralts hopped off of him.

"Hermione Granger," Hermione said.

"Ah, well, come on, come on, we've got much to do!" Madam Milkin took the two of them and stood them up on stools near the back of the shop. Harry noticed a small frog hoping about.

"Er... is that your frog?" Harry asked, looking at it. Milkin looked at the toad and gasped.

"Oh, dear. I believe that was Mr. Longbottom's toad. Don't worry," she said as she flicked her wand and conjured a small box and put the frog into it. "I know the boy's grandmother. I'll be sure to return the poor thing to him. Now, hold still..." Madam Milkin put a robe over Harry and Hermione. The two students-to-be found themselves continuing their talk, this time with Hermione speaking of life in Britain, describing her parents' career in dentistry, and the many kinds of clients she would often see in the waiting rooms. Harry was particularly amused by a particular tale of a skittish child named Robby Fenwick, who bit Mr. Granger out of fear. Eventually, Milkin let Harry and Hermione go to rejoin their group.

"So, where to next?" Hagrid asked.

"We've already collected Miss Granger's wand, so for us that leaves Potions equipment and ingredients, a telescope, and books-"

"Books!" Hermione and Harry replied at once.

"Sounds like its settled, eh?" Hagrid asked. Minutes later, the duo were looking through the vast store, Flourish and Blotts. Harry and Hermione were both interested in finding books for information on the Wizarding World's history and culture, something that neither of them knew much about. Meanwhile, Hagrid gathered books on the reading list.

"So… What books are those?" Hermione asked, noticing the old books Harry had collected from his vault. "Just a bunch of stuff my parents had. I haven't had the chance to look at them yet, but this one, 'A Muggle-Born's Guide to the Magical World,' looks really helpful…" Harry said, pulling out the red notebook.

"Where are your parents, anyway?" Hermione asked.

Harry was silent for a moment. "… Well, actually, they're dead."

"Oh…" Hermione said, sorry that she'd brought it up.

"It's alright." Harry said, trying to loosen up the tension he suddenly felt. "I didn't know them very well, anyway. I've been living with someone in the Pokèmon World for as long as I can remember." Harry paused, noticing a book on the shelves about ancient legends in the Wizarding World. "I'll admit, learning about it was a bit of a shock, but I'm still here. And I have a duty to my parents… to make them proud, from wherever they're watching me! As long as I have that, they're always with me, no matter what, right?"

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

Harry continued to gather books on the ancient legends and the history of the Wizarding World, and them put them together with the reading list books Hagrid had collected before bringing it to the counter. Hermione came with a smaller amount of books detailing useful spells for all occasions and the history of Hogwarts itself, knowing that she was working under the Hogwarts trust fund's limitations. The two of them left with looks of slight sadness due to having to leave, but Harry brightened up at the Apothecary, as he gazed at the large number of potions ingredients around.

"Unicorn Horns… Dragon fangs… Wow, this world has fascinating creatures, huh?" Harry asked. Ralts gazed into a bowl of beetle eyes.

_Uck…_ Ralts continued to look about, noting various other ingredients, like wolfsbane, bezoars, leaves, and even a frog brain or two. _Very uck._

Hagrid called out to Harry, showing a new cauldron, scales, and the like. Harry and Hermione walked out, happy to have something to carry their new books and supplies in.

"Well, we're done here," Professor McGonagall said.

"I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah." Harry replied. He walked with Hagrid to the last store on their list, Olivander's Wand Shop.

The building itself was thin and shabby, and looked like it had been around for years (which was an accurate guess, if the sign's claim of having been around since 382 B.C. was true.) Harry walked in, and noticed a faint tinkling of a bell. He looked around, but didn't even notice the proprietor of the store until he was already upon him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter…" Harry and Ralts jumped at the sudden noise, as well as how he had instantly recognized him. "Yes… I had a feeling I'd be seeing you again… You have your mother's eyes… Yes… Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow, perfect for charms… It feels like it was only yesterday…"

'Man, he's creepy…' Harry thought to himself, wishing the man would at least blink.

"Your father, though, was chosen by a mahogany wand. Eleven inches, pliable, excellent for transfiguration… Ohohoho. I can only guess what kind of wand will choose you."

"Choose me?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it is the wand that chooses the wizard, after all… Hmm…" The man closed in even further, touching Harry's forehead, sending a tingling feeling throughout the boy's body. "That's where… I'm quite sorry to say that I sold the wand that did that… Thirteen and a half inches, Yew. So very powerful… If only I had known…" He shook his head sadly. "Now, on to brighter things. Which is your wand arm?"

"My dominant one? Right, sir."

"Hold it out." And thus the measuring began. Ollivander measured Harry from shoulder to finger, wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and even odder locations, as he spoke. "Every Ollivander wand has a core made from a very powerful magical substance. Unicorn Hairs, Phoenix tail feathers, heartstrings of dragons… and many more. No two wand is exactly alike, just as no two willow trees, or dragons, or unicorns are exactly the same. So of course you will never have quite as good an effect with someone else's wand." As he spoke, he walked to the many shelves throughout the building, leaving Harry being measured by a floating tape measure.

'Is this really neccesary?' Harry asked himself as the wand measured the width of his pinky toe. Ollivander seemed to answer his question as he told the tape measure that it was done, just before it began to measure the length from his navel to his crotch.

"Now, try this one. Hornbeam, phoenix feather core, 9 inches." Harry took the wand and waved it about, only for it to be taken away just as quickly. "No… here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy… Nope… hmm… Oak… no too straightforward… Ivy… no, that will never do… Elm?… a bit too timid… Birch? Too adventurous for you… it must be Rowan, then… hmm… must be too overpowering… You seem to be a very tricky customer, Mr. Potter." Ollivander looked quite happy at the challenge. "… Unless… Well, why not?" He walked over to the back of the room, pulling out another wand. "Try this one… Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand, and instantly knew what it was that Ollivander had been looking for. He took the wand, and waved it. At once, the wand released red and gold sparks from the tip, bringing applause from Hagrid and Ralts.

"Wonderful! Yes, very much so… but it is quite curious…"

"What's so curious about it?" Harry asked.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every. Single. One. The phoenix feather in your wand belongs to a phoenix who gave just one other feather: thirteen and a half inches, made of yew. That wand belonged to the one who gave you that scar."

_Oh, that's not creepy at all,_ Ralts muttered sarcastically.

"Remember, the wand chooses the wizard… I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, but great." Harry gulped.

"Uh, thanks…" Harry paid the money for the wand, and quickly walked out with Hagrid and Ralts.

A few minutes later, they were walking out of an ink and parchment store, with writing supplies in tow. At Harry's suggestion ("Where am I going to put all of this?"), Hagrid took him to a small shop dedicated to charming objects. It was here that he had his Pokèdex and Pokèballs charmed to work in Hogwarts and his backpack charmed to carry more on the inside than it appeared to on the outside.

"Well, that's everythin'," Hagrid said as they left. "How 'bout we go get yeh a birthday present?"

"Eh?" Harry asked.

"Don't you know? Today is July 31st, the day you were born." Hagrid smiled. "We've got to get yeh somethin', huh? I guess yeh've already got animals with those Pokèmon of yers, right? An' I can't get you a broom since yer just a first year. Hmm…"

"Oh, don't worry," Harry assured the large man. "You don't need to get me anything. Trust me, you've done more than enough, helping me find all of my stuff."

"Well, how bout we go over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, at least? My treat."

_Ice cream? They have ice cream here?_ Ralts gasped. _I guess this place isn't all bad…_

"Um, sure, but I should probably check on my Pokèmon first." Harry replied. He walked back to the Bar, and walked into his room. Tyrogue and Snorunt were talking with each other, enjoying the day off. Hoothoot was still dozing, and Remoraid and Mantyke were splashing around in the tub, enjoying themselves thoroughly.

"These are Pokermen?" Hagrid asked, looking at them.

"Pokèmon," Harry corrected. "Okay, guys! How about we go get some ice cream? I mean, if you're okay with it, Hagrid?" Hagrid suddenly found himself being gazed at pleadingly by Ralts and Mantyke. Hagrid laughed.

"O' course we can!" There was suddenly much cheering in the room.

Harry looked to the only-just-waking Owl Pokèmon. "Wanna go out for some ice cream, Hoothoot?"

Hoothoot hopped with a flutter onto Harry's head, nestling itself in Harry's hair. Meanwhile, Ralts used his psychic powers to carry Remoraid in a ball of water as Mantyke bounced across the floor.

_WHOOSH!_ The baby Pokèmon squealed as she slid about, bumping into Hagrid. It turned around to look at Harry. _Mommy, Big Man!_

"Er, Harry, what should I do about this one?" Hagrid asked, always interested in new creatures.

Harry looked at the small Pokèmon at Hagrid's feet. "Oh, Mantyke? Just pick her up. She's a bit slippery, though, and likes to slide about, so keep a firm but gentle grip on her, she's still a baby Pokèmon." Hagrid carefully picked Mantyke up, and she giggled at the large man's touch. She then slipped through his grasp, bouncing back up to Hagrid's height.

_Wheee! Wheeee!_ Mantyke laughed as it continued to bounce in place. Hagrid grabbed the bouncing water-type as it was coming down from another bounce.

"She's got a lot of energy," Hagrid guffawed. "Now, are we ready?" All of the Pokèmon made affirmative calls. Harry was carrying Snorunt in his arms as Ralts rode on his left shoulder, carrying Remoraid with his psychic powers. Hoothoot rested in Harry's hair, and Tyrogue sat on his right shoulder. The entourage left Harry's room and walked to the Ice Cream Parlor, drawing a couple of stares as they did. Harry paid them no mind, cheerfully stating the orders of his Pokèmon while looking at the various flavors on the menu. As they sat down with their treats, Harry laughed a bit.

"I don't get it…" Harry mused quietly, "Ollivander says that I-uhm…" he paused to contemplate his word choice. "This… 'Harry' guy is special, and from what I've overheard, everyone agrees that he's supposed to be some amazing person, and that great things can be simply expected from me-er, him, just because of some silly mark. It's…" He stopped to take a bite out his ice cream. "It's idiotic. He didn't really do anything himself."

Hagrid raised an eyebrow. "O' course he did Revlis, he beat summat that was unbeatable before. He ended years of suffering, that don't look like they're comin' back. A lot of folks owe him fer that…"

"But what exactly did Harry do that stopped him? Dribble on him?"

Hagrid paused. "I'll admit, nobody knows what happened, just that Harry survived, and You-Know-Who didn't."

"… That still doesn't seem like a good reason to act like he's the second coming of Arceus… Maybe if Harry, with his own effort, did something worth praising, I'd understand. But so far, the only things he's actually done here is get some money from a bank, make a few new friends, get some school supplies, and eat some ice cream with an employee of the school he's going to soon."

Hagrid smiled. "A lot o' folks in the Wizarding World start their careers that way, and I've met a bunch that grew up the be amazin' wizards. Teachers, Headmasters, Ministers of Magic, Quidditch Stars, Dragon-Keepers- amazin' creatures, those, wouldn't mind doin' that job meself- Potions Masters, an' all sorts of other stuff." He leaned in close to speak directly to Harry. "Yeh've already got some skill with those Poklamon o' yers-"

_Pokèmon,_ Hoothoot deadpanned. _Get it right, or don't say it._

"-An' if yeh've got just a bit of what yer parents had, I'd be surprised to not see you be a truly great wizard. Just give it time. Yeh've been singled out, but if yeh just show them the real Harry Potter, the Poklamon trainer, I think they'd like yeh for it."

"That's pretty good advice," Harry muttered. "Oh, by the way, it's pronounced Pokèmon. Po-kay-Mon. Just for future reference."

Hagrid laughed. "I wouldn't want to insult them with a mispronunciation of their name. I know of a few creatures who are finnicky enough to kill over stuff like that."

The sun had set by the time they returned to the bar.

"Well, I guess this is goodby fer now." He pulled out an envelope and gave it to Harry. "This is yer ticket fer Hogwarts, as well as a bit of Floo Powder fer checkin' in on yer friends in the Pokèmon World. Just throw it in the fireplace, put yer head near it, and call out the name of the place yer calling to. There's enough for a trip there and back, and as long as they've got a fireplace hooked up to the Network, you can call out any location. Yeh've got a month before the Train leaves."

"About 30 days, then?" Harry asked.

"31, to be precise. September 1st. Instructions for getting there from here at the Leaky Cauldron are inside the envelope, but I heard that some folks are better at learning by simply hearing information. You can use the Knight Bus, by just sticking out yer wand arm out, sorta like this." Hagrid demonstrated for Harry quickly, sticking his arm out in such a way as though beckoning something. "Tell them yer headed for Kings Cross. Get off there and find Platform 9¾. I'll see yeh there, Harry."

"See you," Harry replied as Hagrid turned to leave. "Well, I guess I should go see how Professor Conifer is doing."

_Probably freaking out,_ Ralts grinned.

_Well, we are in a completely foreign place…_ Tyrouge said. _She has the right to be scared for our safety, though she should be assured that Harry is safe with us._

_This from the Pokèmon that broke his leg trying to protect Harry,_ Hoothoot chuckled. Tyrogue glared at her.

_Th-That was a low b-blow, Hoothoot..._ Snorunt stuttered.

_Mommy's Mommy is worried about us?_ Mantyke asked, small tears in her eyes.

_We're not saying that's for certain._ Remoraid assured the sniffling Mantyke.

Harry walked up to his room as his Pokemon continued to talk to each other, choosing to rest for the night and return to the Pokèmon World tommorrow.

His dreams were filled with people on broomsticks and Dugtrio swarms digging ever deeper into the earth below Gringotts.

* * *

"As you may notice, I'm sorta going through this plot using the Books as a template in terms of events per chapter. This latest Chapter coincides with the entirety of Chapter Five of Harry Potter and the Sorcerors/Philosipher's Stone, "Diagon Alley." Also, I have, while working on this fanfiction, written up actual in-game mechanics descriptions of Harry's team, noting their Four Moves, their gender, their Nature, their ability, and their IV text, sorta like this:

-Ralts (Breeded, Starter) (Pre First Year) - Magical Leaf, Psychic, Swagger, Double Team - Trace - Naughty (Atk+, SpDf-, Likes Spicy, Dislikes Bitter). A bit quick tempered (+17 Atk)-

When writing the Pokemon, I am keeping these sort of factoids in mind. For example, Ralts here doesn't hold up very well to things like Flamethrower and Reducto, compared to other Pokemon, and he is quick to anger. The lists don't really matter too much, I guess it's just a quick fun fact for those who are really into the competitive pokaymans and would fully understand this stuff before I hit the hay. See you all next time, and I hope to get the next chapter of whatever I'm doing uploaded or at least well underway before the end of the next month, since otherwise College will be back and my free time will be just about murdered. See ya next time!"


	7. Of Trains

Pokémon Wizard  
By James The Fox  
Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling  
Pokémon belongs to Game Freak and Nintendo

"Pokémon Black and White… Out... Oh Arceus…" (Explodes, then is rebuilt.)

Harry: "Are you going to include the new Pokémon from Black and White?"

"Hmmmmmmmmm… Not sure. Depends on how the new region fits with my plans. If nothing else, I'll mention Unova as one of the regions in the Pokémon World."

Harry: "Well, at this rate, you'll have to wonder about 6th generation."

"Hmph. My schedule doesn't slip THAT mu…" (Pales at the last post date) "O-ONE YEAR!"

Harry: (Smirks) "More."

Naruto: "Well, he was busy with me. Guess you got the short end of the stick."

Harry: "Why you…!"

"Um, anyway, on to the Fic!"

* * *

Chapter 6: Of Trains

"_Tell everybody I'm on my way, new friends and new places to see!" ~ On My Way, Phil Collins_

_

* * *

_

"Harry!" Cath Conifer gasped as Harry landed on his knees back in the Pokémon World, Ralts clinging madly to his shoulder. Unexpectedly, his mother-figure was still at Prof. Oak's place. Harry pondered why she hadn't returned home yet. Was she waiting for him to come back and say that he hated it there and he doesn't ever want to go back? Was she just worried about him, period, and expecting Harry to at least call? Prof. Oak was there as well, looking rather tired.

_I will never, ever, EVER get used to that…_ Ralts wheezed, looking like he was about to puke. Harry noticed this and set him down, reaching into his bag, and pulling out a bowl. Ralts happily took it, and proceeded to empty his bowels. _… Ever._

"So, how was it?" Prof. Conifer asked, a hint of relief in her tone.

"It was fine, Professor. It's odd, but not too different from our world… How about we head home before we get too comfortable here? It's pretty late, and I'm sure Professor Oak would like his rest." Prof. Oak said nothing, but he nodded, looking a bit relieved. When Prof. Conifer worried, she wouldn't let it drop. 'She must have been grilling Oak for information on the Wizarding World.' The Professor and her aide walked outside before she sent out a Kadabra.

"Hugh, you think you can teleport us back home?" Prof. Conifer asked.

Hugh nodded, and teleported the group back to their home on Floe Island.

"Hey, Professor, did you have someone look after the Ranch while you were gone?"

"Of course! You think I'd just leave them? I called Nurse Joy, and she assured me that she'd handle it."

"She must be swamped by all the work at the Center, and yet she still finds time to help with the Ranch? She's amazing," Harry said as he let out Hoothoot and started to walk inside. Hoothoot, meanwhile, flew off to enjoy a night of flying through the forest. "Have fun, Hoothoot!"

"Okay, we're home, now spill. Professor Oak didn't have too much to say about the Wizarding World, just some history. What's it like, specifically?"

Harry proceeded to talk about his day in the Wizarding World. He mentioned the insane methods of travel, the people in odd clothes… and the people he got to know personally. "I met two of the staff at Hogwarts and one of the students who will be spending her first year there, like me…"

Cath may never have had a son before Harry, but she had known her mother, and her instincts as Harry's adoptive mother were sharp as a tack. So of course, her ears picked up at the last sentence. _'Students, her, like me…'_ "Ohhhh? And what was this _girl_ like?" She asked, leering at Harry, and Harry frowned.

"It's not like that, Professor…" Harry insisted. "But she's nice, and I think we'll be pretty good friends."

_Ah, don't worry, the day anyone would be interested in Bidoof-face is the day that the Electabuzz win the season!_ Ralts laughed. Harry frowned at him.

"I know that tone, Ralts. You're just annoyed because she called you a pet." Ralts pouted, much to Harry's amusement.

_Stupid Bidoof-face. Why I oughta… and I will! She'll rue the day! RUE! I'll … Magical Leaf … bushy… how she likes being… And Psychic… a little puppet! Oh yes... She won't see it coming… Pet! I can't believe someone would mistake me for a pet…_ Ralts scuttled off, ranting. _Yank out… she'll have… a straw! BWAHAHAhahahaha…_ Harry sighed at his fading ranting.

"Hopefully a month will be enough for him to cool down. Anyway, her name is Hermione, and she seems pretty smart… I guess she was pretty enthusiastic to be going to Hogwarts. She ran right into me outta nowhere, rushing to get to the clothes store… But she's also from a family that wasn't magical before her, so she's as new to this as I am."

"Odd," Conifer muttered. "They say Arceus chose people from the banished Pokélantians to give a portion of his power… If that power runs through the family, then why would two parents who weren't part of that chosen group give birth to someone who has that power?"

"Hmm… Maybe he's still choosing people?"

"Then why would people like this Voldemort guy get Arceus' power?"

"Good point… Maybe we're thinking too emotionally about this? Maybe he just adds people to the list of magical people to increase the breeding pool? After all, science has proven what happens when the number of people breeding together becomes too few…"

"Right… That's fairly good thinking. What's the population?"

"Don't know… Oh, there's something else that I think might interest you."

Conifer raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"It's their bank, Gringotts. It goes for miles underground, and the Banker told me they've been there since before Gringotts was founded. What's more, the walls have the same markings as Diglett Cave: they've got Diglett and Dugtrio-dug patterns, except in the vaults that were more recently dug."

"So, this place was definitely part of the Pokémon World once…" Prof. Conifer scratched her chin. "That's interesting. I wonder if there are other places like that. I guess you should keep an eye out."

Harry nodded. "It's definitely worth analyzing... But for now, I think I'm going to go to bed. It's been a busy day, after all!"

"G'night!" Cath watched Harry go to his room, and took another drink of coffee. _'I guess you were right, Sammy, you old coot. Harry should be fine out there, especially considering that he's spent the last year traveling the world… Still, it's hard to NOT worry about him…'_ She looked to her work desk in the corner, and to the picture hanging right next to her computer.

Taken on the first day that Harry started working in the ranch, it showed a startled Harry surrounded by a small pack of Chimchar, who were climbing all over him and happily taking the food he was offering them. He had been scared by the Pokémon at first, hiding behind Cath while warily watching the monkeys' burning tails and quick movements, but by the end of the week, he had embraced their energetic charms and actually pouted when it was time to come inside.

She was proud of how he had grown over the last few years, but sometimes she'd look at him, and see in him the twerp who was too afraid to go within five feet of a Totodile. But then, she'd also see the 9 year old who fearlessly calmed down a raging Nidoking. She shook her head. 'Heh, I worry too much. He's a tough kid, and besides, what's the worst that could happen? Not like a Gyrados is going to smash the school to bits… Well, aside from that Magikarp when it evolves, heh. Poor old bastard.'

… _with a hot gluegun! Perfection!_

_

* * *

_

Harry spent the following month preparing for Hogwarts. He bought a new PokéGear and called up Ash, explaining his plans for expanding the Egg Delivery Service to the Wizarding World, and called up his partners in egg delivering to prepare for delivery to Hogwarts. The plan was to use a passage in the Ruins of Alph Lugia had mentioned, one of the few gaps in the barrier keeping the Pokémon World closed off, to warp to the Wizarding World and travel to Hogwarts from there. Harry skimmed the various textbooks he had picked up, but more dutifully read the books of Wizarding Legends and Fairytales alongside Prof. Conifer, trying to scrounge up more shared aspects between the two worlds.

With so much to do, Harry found that the month moved like lightning, and he found himself standing before Professor Oak's fireplace, ready to return to the Wizarding World.

"Take care out there, Harry," Oak warned. "And be sure to learn everything you can!"

"I will." Harry replied, returning Ralts to his Pokéball at his request.

"Be sure to call often!" Cath ordered, hugging her son.

"Every day!" Harry hugged her back, smiling.

"And remember to change your un-"

"MOOOOM!" Harry whined. "I will, I will, just don't say the U-word."

'What IS it with mothers and their obsession with their kids changing underwear?' Oak mentally asked himself -not for the first time, and almost certainly not for the last- as Conifer gave him one last embrace and Harry stepped into the fireplace, throwing down the Floo Power and shouting out:

"DIAGON ALLEY!"

A few moments later, Harry found himself in the Leaky Cauldron, stumbling but not falling.

'I must be getting the hang of this…' He pondered as he walked out the front door, entering the Muggle World for the first time. Strangely, it didn't seem too different from the Pokémon World, except that there were no Pokémon, no Trainers, and the streets were a little more dense than in an average town.

'Ok, take out my wand-hand, hold it out toward the street…' All at once, a huge purple vehicle appeared before him, shocking the young trainer. "AIIEE!" Harry stepped back, taking the "Knight Bus" Hagrid had mentioned in.

"Oi, kid!" A rather intimidating man stepped up to the door, frowning. "You called?"

"Er, yeah. Sorry, just a bit surprised, that's all." Harry scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't expecting the bus to just-"

"Save it, kid, we're on a tight schedule. Where to? King's Cross?"

Harry boarded the bus, nodding dumbly. He barely had time to find a seat in time for the bus to leave at insane speeds, rivaling even a Pidgeot moving at full throttle. As such, he flew straight into a wizard. Harry noticed that he seemed to be in his teen years, and very obsessed with his appearance: his clothes were quite neat and orderly, giving off the feel of one of the stricter Pokémon Professors. He red hair was likewise carefully combed, though it was now disheveled a bit by Harry's impact. 'Is he going for a… what's the word… dignified appearance? That "I've got authority and you should very well heed it!" posture… Reminds me of some of my more pompus clients in the EDS…' Harry bowed slightly as he tried to regain his footing. 'Well, let's try not to set him off…'

"Sorry about that! I'm not used to something moving like this…"

The wizard shook his head rather kindly, surprising Harry. "Muggleborn, then? Don't worry too much. You'll get used to it, just brace yourself, we're about to-"

"KING'S CROSS!"

"ACK!"

CRASH!

"My glasses! I can't see without my glasses!"

"Here you go." The witch he'd bumped into THAT time returned the glasses that had fallen off of his head. "I remember when Percy was like that…"

"Thanks, ma'm…" Harry climbed out of the bus, shaking his head. "Okay, that sucked." He looked about, taking in his surroundings. He noted many of the wizards that had disembarked with him were entering a large building. "I guess I go through there?"

Following a large pack of red-haired wizards, Harry counted the numbers above each platform. He frowned as he caught up with the wizards, between Platforms 9 and 10. He scratched his head and looked at the family in front of him. The mother (or so he assumed) was hovering over a boy about Harry's age, gushing about how the same old motherly things, telling him to do well in school, etcetera. Harry coughed lightly.

"Excuse me, do you know where Platform 9¾ is?" The woman did an about-face and smiled.

"Hm? Oh, of course!" The woman frowned. "But, er, where are your parents?"

Harry smiled. "Far away. REALLY far away."

"Oh, transfer student, I guess…?" The woman nodded. "Alright, here." She pointed at a pillar. "Just run straight through, and you'll arrive at 9¾. Just watch. Alright, Percy, you first." The man he'd bumped into first on the train marched straight into the wall, vanishing. "Just walk straight at the barrier, and don't stop, don't be scared you'll bump into it. It may be better to just run at it, if you're nervous."

Harry nodded as two identical brothers hopped through in turn, psyching himself up. "… OK! I can do this!" Harry walked towards the wall, gaining speed as he did. 'Here it comes…' He was about to hit the wall when he closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and came to a stop in a whole other platform: Platform 9¾. "Yes!" He pumped his arm in victorious mirth. _'That was pretty easy, actually.'_ He walked through the crowd, a journey made easier for him (in his opinion) by the fact that his books were in the odd endless backpack he'd gotten in Diagon Alley, instead of the trolleys everyone else seemed to be using.

"Hey! Over here, Revlis!" Harry looked to the left and saw a familiar bushy-haired girl running up to him.

"Hey, Hermione! Man, this place… It's packed."

"Yeah, I can barely get my trolley through this mess… Hey, where's Ralts?" Hermione frowned. Harry smirked, about to release Ralts so he could carry Hermione's luggage with his powers… but then remembered the sour mood the diminutive Psychic-Type Pokémon had been in following his meeting with Hermione. Instead, he released Tyrogue.

"He's resting in his Pokéball, but this is Tyrogue. Tyrogue, this is Hermione."

_The Bidoof-face? Pleased to meet you._ Tyrogue bowed respectfully to the young girl.

Harry knelt to make eye contact with Tyrogue. "Hey, Tyrogue, can you help Hermione with her luggage?" Tyrogue nodded as he walked towards the trolley.

"Er, Harry, he looks kinda small to lift my-" Tyrogue lifted the trolley and carried it carefully from where it rested with Hermione's parents to Harry's side. "-luggage. Wh… whoa."

_This is only part of my training: If I cannot carry this burden to where it must sit…_ Tyrogue started, eyes closed in concentration, before they finally snapped open dramatically. _… Then I will never be able to defeat that Hurt One that threatened mother back at Route 29!_

"Don't worry. Tyrogue is pretty strong for his size. Anyway, I think I'll go find a compartment, if you're ready." Hermione nodded, waving to her parents as they neared. Harry watched the Granger family bid each other their farewells. Harry knew full well how hard it was the first time he left home, and so gave them their space. Eventually, after receiving a promise to write them at least once a week, the Grangers gave their girl a final hug, letting her walk with Harry and Tyrogue down the platform.

Harry and Hermione walked along the Hogwarts Express, searching for a cabin to sit in, finally settling on an empty one at the back of the train that provided a nice view of the rails the train would leave behind. Upon entering the cabin, Harry opened his Pokéballs, allowing the rest of his Pokémon to take a seat and breathe some fresh air. There was some chaos as everyone fought for a spot next to their "mama," but the group eventually settled down. With the combined efforts of Ralts and Snorunt, Remoraid gained a mode of transportation: an icy ball filled with water, allowing the fish Pokémon to swim about contently. Hoothoot had just dozed off when the door to the cabin opened.

"You wouldn't happen to have room for… one… more…?" A redheaded boy Harry recognized from the group he had seen earlier stared at the menagerie of creatures strewn over the compartment. "Uh…"

"It's fine, we can spare some room. Right everyone?" Harry asked.

Ralts gave him a dirty look. _First you ask me to settle in the same room as my MORTAL ENEMY- _Ralts spared a glance towards Hermione _–and now you want to add another person in here! Yeah, sure we'll move for him… not! Everyone with me, say-_

Snorunt jumped into Harry's lap, as Mantyke hopped into Hermione's, leaving room for the boy to awkwardly sit next to Ralts.

_Of course. You big… big… BABIES! Mommas boys!_

_W-we're both g-girls._ Snorunt corrected.

_Girlies! Girlies!_ Mantyke squealed.

Ralts sighed. _Fine. Girls. Mommas girls. _

The boy stared at Ralts as he continued to argue with Mantyke and Snorunt. "So… uh, what's with the… er…"

"Pokémon," Harry supplied. "They're called Pokémon. They're my traveling companions, so they coming to Hogwarts with me. By the way, what's your name?"

"… Ron Weasley. This is my first year at Hogwarts." Ron replied. "What about you?"

"Hermione Granger. This is my first year in Wizarding culture. Muggleborn, you know. And this is Revlis Dlog. We met at Diagon Alley. He's a Pokémon Trainer."

'Revlis Dlog? What a barmy name…' Ron thought to himself. 'Poccemin… Trainer?'

"Oh, er…" Harry blushed, scratching his head in embarrassment at the use of the alias Dumbledore had assigned him. Ron suddenly got very still, gazing directly at Harry's forehead.

"Wait… that scar… are you _Harry Potter_?" Ron asked.

"Er…" Harry paled. The Shiny Wigglytuff had sung. "… Yeah, what about it?"

"What about it? What about it? You're the famous Boy-Who-Lived, and you've been missing for years!" Ron gaped. "That's what about it!"

"Well, yeah, so? Not like I've done anything important since then, right?" Harry leaned back, careful not to disturb the sleeping owl Pokémon on his shoulder. "Nowadays, I'm just a humble Pokémon Trainer, and an assistant to Prof. Conifer."

"Oh," Hermione frowned. "So your parents were killed by…"

"Yeah, that Lord… um… Lord Whateverguy got them. But I have no recollection of it, and I probably just sat there and dribbled snot everywhere while he messed up in the execution of the spell, so why should I be famous for it? If I'm going to be famous, I'd rather it be for something that I do myself, instead of surviving a spell some doofus tried because it wasn't very effective against me. Anyway, you're the only one here who's lived in the Wizarding World. Any advice for the newbies here, Ron?"

Unfortunately, Ron didn't get the chance to answer, as his mother called for him. Harry could barely hear him talking with her, as well as a gabble of other voices. It wasn't long before Harry heard his name dropped.

"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him? Please…"

"You've seen him already, Ginny, and it's not right to goggle at him like some circus animal! Is he really, Ron? How do you know?"

"Saw his scar," Ron's voice replied. "He didn't seem pleased to be recognized, though…"

"Poor dear… no wonder he was alone… Such a polite boy, how horrid that he'd grow up without his family…"

Harry shook his head. 'She doesn't understand: I've got a family of my own: a big one, at that.'

Prof. Conifer, who found him passed out and without prior memory, who raised him with kindness, wisdom, and not the smallest amount of friendly jibes. He learned what it was to raise Pokémon, the virtues of helping others, and how one should always take in their surroundings (lest they get hit with a wild Gyrados' Dragon Rage).

Ralts, the first egg Harry hatched, and Harry's lifelong companion. Harry had raised him, like his other Pokémon, from their birth, and knew them better than he knew most people, which those in the Wizarding World would think was laughable, due to the language gap, but Harry's bond with them, especially Ralts, allowed him to know their thoughts and feelings with but the simplest changes in movement and tone. Ralts liked to get into trouble, and had a quick temper, but like the rest of his species, cared about his trainer, his "mother" more than anyone else, a sentiment returned by Harry.

Ash Ketchum, Fire-Red Master and Running Champion of the International Pokémon League. Harry met him during a trip to Pallet Town, while the skilled trainer was visiting his mother, and Ash saw something in Harry (their uncanny resemblance, perhaps?) and they became fast friends. Ash was Harry's father figure, and taught him to grow even closer to Pokémon, and to trust them as they trusted him. It was Ash and his wife, Misty, who had given him eggs containing Snorunt and Remoraid for his ninth birthday, and Ash and Misty's many connections who helped and inspired him to set up his Magnum Opus: The EDS: Egg Delivery Service.

Snorunt and Remoraid turned out vastly different in personality: Snorunt was shy, and often hid behind Harry when some new face tried to pet her, but stood her ground in any dangerous situation. Remoraid, on the other hand, was not shy at all, but rather genial to new faces, although he was also quick to judge and even quicker to run from a fight. Still, they got along well, considering Snorunt often helped make icy spheres for Remoraid to fill up with water and use to travel about.

They were only a couple of the Pokémon Harry was taking care of. HootHoot, the impudent, narcoleptic (or perhaps just nocturnal?) Flying Type, often argued with her siblings while awake. Tyrogue was a deadly serious, constantly vigilant Fighting Type who pushed himself to never lose. Mantyke, the youngest member of the group, was a dewy-eyed Water Type who was always seen making a mess.

They all had little quirks and often disagreed with each other, but wasn't that what it was to be family? Harry smiled to himself as the train's whistle blew, and Ron presently came back into the compartment.

"Er, what'd I miss?" he asked.

Harry laughed as his newest friend sat next to him. "Nothing much, we're just waiting for the train to leave. So, like I asked, any tips for surviving our first few years in Wizarding society?"

"Er, I don't know… I heard from Fred and George that there's some kind of trial we have to go through when we get there, and it decides what House you get into."

"House?" Harry asked. "I think I read something about that in the books I read, but…"

"Hogwarts has four houses, according to Hogwarts: a History," Hermione supplied.

"Yeah, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin," Ron continued. "My entire family was in Gryffindor. I don't know how they'd react to me being anywhere else… I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, but _Slytherin_…Ugh. Not a bad wizard out there who hasn't come out of Slytherin. You-Know-Who was in there, after all…"

"No-I-don't-know-who, I'm sorta new to the culture, after all."

Ron paled. "You know, the guy who killed your parents."

"Oh. That's a silly alias. Why call him You-Know-Who? Doesn't he have a real name, like Catherine, or Joe, or Tommy, or Richie?"

"Well… People are a bit skittish about the name… he did a lot of nasty stuff."

"So you don't say his name out of fear?"

"Yeah. Hasn't there ever been someone like that back where you're from?"

"Well, we've had to deal with all sorts of nasty folks." Harry shrugged. "But we've never called anyone You-Know-Who or whatever." He was watching Tyrogue balance on Remoraid's ice ball, adjusting with Remoraid's movements and the movements of the Train. 'That might make a neat trick in a Pokémon Contest… in the variants of the contests that allow three Pokémon on the stage at the same time, anyway.' He pulled out a small notebook and wrote this idea down.

Ron gaped in awe. "Wow, they must be really brave. You're definitely a Gryffindor, for sure."

"Why's that?"

"Courage is the trait most valued by Gryffindor," Hermione replied. "Each house has a trait they value above all others. Ravenclaw values wisdom, Hufflepuff values loyalty, and Slytherin values Ambition. At least, that's what Hogwarts: A History says."

"Hmm… Then I'm not sure I'd make a good Gryffindor," Harry said. "That books sounds to me like I'm a shoe-in for Hufflepuff. I'm nothing if not loyal."

_Loyal to the end!_ Ralts cheered.

The talking died down after a while, and Harry was about to doze off when the door out of the compartment opened, and a happy-looking woman with dimples all over her face looked into the cart.

"Anything off of the cart, dears?"

Every Pokémon turned to Harry at once with pleading eyes as Ron begged off of buying anything, having sandwiches to tide him over. Harry sighed, unable to resist their patented gaze.

"I hope you all remember how spoiled you all are... Sure, what have you got?"

Turned out she had a LOT of things Harry had never heard of before: Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands, Droobles Best Blowing Gum… Every Flavor Beans… and those were only a few of the highlights. Deciding not to take chances, Harry bought a few of everything. When he came back into the compartment barely able to carry everything he'd bought, the Pokémon cheered and leapt for joy. Hermione stared at the veritable mountain of sweets.

"Hungry, Harry?" Ron asked.

"My Pokémon are, yeah. And I had no idea what they'd like. Don't know what there is here…" Harry stared at a Cauldron Cake.

"Are you sure it'll be okay for them to eat?" Hermione asked.

"Long as they don't gorge on anything, they'll be fine." Harry replied as he nibbled on a Licorice Wand before passing the sweet-tasting stick to Mantyke, who chowed down on it with a relish. "They can eat just about anything a human will eat." He noted Ron opening his sandwich.

"… She always forgets I don't like corned beef…" Ron frowned.

"Well, there's more than enough here for you guys to take something from the pile. Heh, I sorta underestimated how much stuff they had on the trolley, and I'm not feeling in the mood for gorging on sweets."

"Er, but… It's not like I can offer you something in return." Ron protested.

"You're a friend, that's enough of a return! Mind if I try one of those?" Harry asked for one of Ron's sandwiches, as Hermione took one of the sweets from the pile, instantly regretting her first choice: one of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, which turned out to be rock-flavored.

"You wouldn't like it," Ron warned as he passed the sandwich. "They're pretty dry…"

Harry took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and smiled. "It tastes fine to me, and the dry flavor will definitely appeal to Remoraid and Snorunt." At Harry's prompting, Ron passed another sandwhich to Snorunt, as Ralts used his Magical Leaf to open the top of the ice ball for Remoraid's meal in between bites of Volkan's Volcanic Venarterta, a sort of small cake that was spicy enough to make one breathe fire. Harry lifted a small, pentagon-shaped box labeled Chocolate Frogs. "A chocolate… frog? That's weird."

"It's not really a frog, but you should check out the card, see who it is. I'm missing Agrippa," Ron explained after taking a bite of a Pumpkin Pastry. Both Harry and Hermione looked questioningly at him, and he smacked his forehead. "Oh, right. Chocolate Frogs have collectable cards inside of famous witches and wizards. I'm missing Agrippa and Ptolemy."

Harry and Hermione shrugged and each opened a Chocolate Frog. Inside Harry's was a card with the unmistakable face of Albus Dumbledore.

"Albus Dumbledore: Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times… defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald… twelve uses of dragon's blood… partner, Nicolas Flamel… tenpin bowling… Oh, hey, the picture's gone!"

Ron shrugged. "He'll be back. Drat! Morgana again?"

"Um, I just got Agrippa," Hermione said. "You can have it if you want when I've finished writing down the information on him." She quickly scribbled down the notes on the old wizard. "You know, so I have some background reading for History of Magic." She held the card out to Ron, who insisted on trading not only Morgana, but also Circe, Ravenclaw, and Grunnion. They continued to enjoy themselves until a tearful boy came in.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?"

"Aside from chocolate ones, no," Harry asked. "… Oh, you wouldn't happen to be Mr. Longbottom, would you?"

"Er, yeah, how did you-?"

"Harry and I came into Madam Milkins just after you, and you'd lost your toad then, too," Hermione mentioned.

"Oh… um… anyway, if you see him…"

"We'll let you know," Harry insisted with a smile. "Don't worry, he'll turn up."

Neville tearfully thanked him before leaving. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Don't know what he's so bothered. If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could." Ron frowned, then pulled out a small rat from his pocket. "Course, I have Scabbers here, so I can't talk."

The rat laid in Ron's hand, snoozing obliviously to the world around him.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference… I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work." Ron pulled out a rather battered-looking wand. "Watch: Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!" He waved the wand, but it had no effect. If anything, Scabbers had simply fallen into an even deeper sleep.

"You sure that's a real spell?" Hermione asked. "It doesn't sound like most spells I've heard of."

"Should have guessed, Fred and George gave it to me. Gits."

"So, uh, what's the rest of your family like?" Harry asked, hoping to take his mind off of the failed spell.

"Well, Mum's nice. A bit stern, though. Dad's always at work at the Ministry, but he's really great when he's home. Then there's Percy, the guy you bumped into on the bus…"

"The pompous guy? He seems nice, a little haughty by his stance, though."

"Yeah. Bill and Charlie are the oldest, and they're already out of school. Charlie's off in Romania, taking care of Dragons…"

"Ohhh…" Harry said in an appreciating way, knowing how tough Dragon-type Pokémon were to take care of.

"… And Bill works for Gringotts Bank. Oh, right, did you hear what happened at the bank?"

"What?" Harry and Hermione asked.

"Someone tried to rob it, and they got away!"

"I guess he didn't find treasure or anything else, then…"

Presently, a trio of boys entered, the leader of the group being a pale, blond-haired boy.

"So, I heard Harry Potter was here…" He gazed at the entourage. "Whats with the animals?"

_Oh, I don't like his tone! Let me at him!_ Ralts growled. _Just say the word, pleeeeaaaaaseeee!_

"They're with me," Harry replied, slightly annoyed by the boy's derisive tone. "Do you have business with us, Mr…"

"Just you, Potter. My name is Draco. Draco Malfoy." Ron coughed. "Think that's a funny name? Well, it's obvious who you are. Freckles, red hair… And all Weasleys have more children than they can afford. You'll soon find out, Potter, that some Wizarding families are better than others. You should be careful what company you choose. I can help with that." Draco held out his hand, but the Trainer was not amused.

"I think I'm a pretty good judge of character, so thanks, but no thanks."

"I'd be careful, Potter. Unless you want to meet the same end as your parents, you should be a bit politer."

"Nothing more polite than intruding on a group of friends and threatening one of them to their faces, Draco," Harry replied. "Now leave us be or calm yourselves down, or we'll show you what's what." Harry stared into Draco's eyes, gauging him. He did not want to be forced to use his Pokémon to scare him off, though Ralts looked VERY eager, so he needed to know if this was a fight he could win on his own. A short lifetime of raising dangerous Pokémon, some many times his size and prone to anger, as well as a year of traveling the Pokémon World, getting by on wits and strength alone, had given him a good deal of physical strength… Yeah, he could take Draco or one of his minions.

Apparently, Draco noticed this, too, because he backed down and left.

"… Well, that could have gotten messy."

"Ah, we could have taken him. Right, Scabbers?" Ron prodded the rat, which was now quite awake. It squeaked in reply. "Anyway, we should get changed into our robes." Hermione and Harry agreed, and they took turns changing in the privacy of the compartment.

Finally, after a very eventful day, the train came to a stop, and after Harry returned his Pokémon, the trio stepped out onto Hogsmeade Station.

* * *

"Okay, there's a new chapter. Now wait about 2 years for the next one. Ohohohoho!"

Harry: "No."

Naruto: "And sooner or later you'll get the next chapter of XIII Ninja out! YEAH!

"So yeah. Going to bed. Pokémon comes out tomorrow. Dissidia 012 comes out March 22. Can you DIGLETT?"

Harry: "Worst. Pun. Ever. And you used it before."

"TRIO TRIO TRIO!"


	8. Of Hats

Pokémon Wizard  
By James The Fox  
Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling  
Pokémon belongs to Game Freak and Nintendo

"POKEMON! Loving Pokémon White. Building my new team, rocking the Elite Four, playing with people I meet, how does it get any better?"

Manaphy: "I'm on the team, right?"

"Yeah."

Manaphy: (Puts on sunglasses) "It CAN'T get any better, bada!"

"Also, school's out, I'm job hunting, but still have more time than before to WRITE! YES! ON TO THE FIC!

* * *

Chapter 6: Of Hats

"Firs' Years! Firs' Years over here! Come 'long now!" Hagrid beamed as he saw Harry approaching him. "How yeh been, Har-er, Revlis?"

"Meowth's out of the bag, just call me Harry." Harry shrugged.

"Right then. Have a pleasant ride?"

"Yeah," Harry replied as he and his new friends pushed through the crowd to join the other first years. "Someone named Draco decided he wanted to call my new friends names," he put his arms amiably over Ron and Hermione's shoulders, "and pick a fight near the end, but we handled it quick and without trouble, and the rest of the ride was peaceful."

"Good to hear, Harry." Hagrid crouched down to look at Harry's compatriots. "Good to see yeh, Miss Granger." He turned to Ron. "Well, well, 'nother Weasley. Good to have yeh with us." He got up and quickly bellowed another round of "Firs' Years!" and looking down at Ron again. "So, how's yer brother Charlie?"

Ron shied away from the towering man. "Er, good, raising Dragons in Romania. Same old, same old."

"Good fer him!" Hagrid grinned. "Best job in the world, that, 'cept maybe Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts…"

"So your brother is a Dragon Tamer?" Harry asked.

"Er, yeah, sorta," Ron replied. "They have Dragons in the Pokémon World, Harry?"

"Dragon Type Pokémon, some of the toughest there are. One of the most famous is Lance, one of the Kanto Elite Four… Dragon-types are especially difficult to train, though…"

"I'm sure Charlie would love to see them," Ron replied. "He's mad about dragons, and would be crazy about seeing new sorts."

A thought occurred to Harry. He knew he'd been wanting to set something up, and this would be a great time to bring it up. "Well, I'm thinking of starting up a club or something at Hogwarts for raising Pokémon."

"Like a dueling or chess club?" Hagrid asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah. You'd have to learn a bit about them first, like a class, but then I'd be authorized to give you an egg to take care of."

"Authorized?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Back home, I trained under one of the leading Pokémon Professors and started up a service that gets Pokémon Eggs to people who can take care of them. It's all the rage with lots of trainers, especially with some that are starting out."

"So, do you just take eggs from some Pokémon's nest?" Hermione asked in shock.

"No, the eggs come from trainers who don't have the time or energy or room to take care of a new face and don't want to let it sit in a Pokémon Professor's Ranch its whole life." Harry shifted into a very longwinded explanation while waiting for the rest of the First year students to arrive: traveling Trainers were limited by law to having 6 Pokémon with them, while any more that the Trainer caught, hatched, or received had to be sent to a Ranch taken care of by the Pokémon Professor nearest to their hometown. "It's nice there, but few Pokémon want to be cooped up in even the largest Ranch for too long, so Trainers either rotate their partners regularly, or find people who can take care of the Pokémon they can't, or even release them into the wild. Still, the second and third options are stressful for both the trainer and the Pokémon.

"There are already organizations that take care of hatched Pokémon, like PokéTransfer Incorporated in the Unova Region, but newly hatched Pokémon have problems separating from the trainer that hatched them, due to instinct telling the Pokémon that the first creature it sees is its mother… PokéTransfer Inc. doesn't handle Eggs, though, due to the issues in transferring eggs through Bill's Digitalization System. They don't have the manpower to handle eggs manually AND transfer Pokémon the normal way." Ron tilted his head as Harry started on a tangent about the revolutionary Digitalization System that went right over his and Hagrid's heads. Even with her knowledge of technology and attention to new information, she found herself barely comprehending the workings system, which used mathematics and theory that could only have been discovered and worked out with the help of highly intelligent Psychic Pokémon, let alone Harry's rather focused explanation dealing with Eggs and Real-to-Data Encryption. Hermione eventually coughed, and Harry realized just how different the worlds were. A quick apology later, Harry was back on track.

"Er, yeah, so that's where I come in. People sign up to have their eggs taken to people they can trust to raise them. It's mainly run by me and some volunteers I've got all over the Pokémon World. It's tough but rewarding work, and you get to see the world and meet lots of interesting people. My last delivery had me travel from the Orre Region, over the ocean to Johto and Newbark Town's Research Center with an Egg someone found laying in front of a shrine, avoiding a criminal organization trying to get their hands on the egg the whole time. We were pretty sure it'd be a rare, legendary Pokémon due to its location being connected to one and the scarcity of other wild Pokémon in the region, but… well, weird stuff happened and our headmaster is the proud caretaker of a newborn Magikarp."

"So the red fish Professor Dumbledore has in his office now is a Pokémon?" Hagrid asked as he led the gathered students down a path.

"Mmhmm. Magikarp is well known as a fairly weak and mild-mannered Pokémon, so he was judged to be capable of taking care of it, as long as he takes a few courses in taking care of Pokémon before it grows into a Gyrados, since Gyrados has the temperament and destructive power of a Dragon Pokémon, and we don't want him getting hurt... Is that-"

"Yep," Hagrid beamed. "Hogwarts."

"Blimey," Ron said in shock. "It's bigger than I thought it'd be…"

"Alright, everyone into the boats! No more than 4 to a boat!" Hagrid barked as he gestured to a fleet of rowboats that sat on the shore of a vast lake between them and their goal.

Harry smiled to himself: Remoraid and Mantyke would have plenty of room to swim.

Ron gulped, remembering Fred's warning of a giant squid that sometimes sank the first year's boats, drowning students who showed even the slightest amount of fear.

Hermione focused on the castle, taking in every detail of the prestigious school… wait, was that tower… shrinking? And the windows were moving… She'd heard that the school shifted and changed in appearance all the time but surely not so MUCH…

Neville Longbottom, the boy whose toad kept getting lost, was checking his coat to make sure that said toad was safe in his pocket- and he wasn't. "Oh no…"

Draco kept his gaze firmly on Harry Potter. Obviously, he thought, this boy who defeated the Dark Lord, his father's master, was a worthy foe for one such as himself. He just knew that they'd be bitter rivals to the end. So he had to prepare. Potter had mentioned a club… "like a dueling club" were the words… that he intended to start. Draco would make himself the strongest in this club, and defeat Potter at his own game, whatever it was.

"Anyway, I'll see yeh on the other side, Harry," Hagrid waved as he stepped onto a much larger boat that he had all to himself. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville got into a boat together. Once everyone was snugly in the boat, Hagrid barked an order, and the boats were on their way, rather quickly. Harry noted that all of the students were staring at the castle ahead, but found himself more interested in the vistas around him. He saw ripple a few feet to his left, at the corner of his vision, a tentacle poking slightly out of the water and waving subtly. Interested, he looked towards the appendage, peering into the lake, and was rewarded with the murky, quick-paced silhouettes of creatures moving in the water among the lethargic behemoth of a giant squid.

As the boat passed under a curtain of ivy at the cliff face beneath the castle and entered a cave, Harry turned his attention to the walls. It was dark, but Harry could make out markings on the walls, obviously worn down and thus barely noticeable from Harry's constantly moving position in the faint light. He was busy noting everything he would explore in his spare time, so much so that it took Ron's nudging him for him to realize they'd stopped. Harry absentmindedly walked up old, well-worn stone stairways, trying to look at the details of the cave, seeing a crack there, a hole in the ground here, and hints of the world before the Wizarding World all about. He was becoming more and more certain that, at some point, this was a habitat for cave-dwelling water Pokémon, such as Wooper, or maybe Barboach…He was glad for the PokéGear 6.0 in his pocket, which had a built-in video/picture camera, so he could send his mom a constant stream of new information concerning anything interesting he found over the next year…

Meanwhile, Ron was in shock at the almost carefree gait of his new friend as they climbed, while he was becoming more and more afraid with every shaky step towards Hogwarts Entrance Hall. He checked himself, double guessing his movements up the stairs, while Harry strode on, barely looking at where he was going… Didn't he know about the trick steps on these stairs that turned the whole staircase into a steep slide causing all the first years to fall to the bottom? Fred and George had warned him, bemoaning how many times the "ickle firsties" came in to the Great Hall an hour late and beaten to a pulp, and the poor Ravenclaw that had their back crushed when such a step landed him underneath the groundskeeper as they both fell.

He just KNEW that any second, Harry would bump something the wrong way and they'd all fall all the way down the steps to their doom! Maybe not now… but soon… maybe there! But somehow, neither he nor the muggleborn girl he'd met had stumbled onto anything.

'Maybe we'll make it up to the top and get the fastest time for climbing the stairs…' He thought hopefully, but he still shuddered at the thought of the Troll that Fred and George said waited in the entry hall…

Hermione was likewise thinking of the "trial" Ron had warned about. Obviously, this being a place of learning, it would be a test of their minds. She'd studied the books she'd gotten from Diagon Alley feverently since she'd come home that day, but hadn't expected it to come in such use so soon! Perhaps, a test of the spells they'd read about… or perhaps a riddle? Perhaps a freeform test where they presented a problem and see how the students solve it? Certainly not a dangerous test, of course… They wouldn't do anything like that, would they? She mentally reviewed the combat magic she'd read about… Flipendo could knock a foe over… if it wasn't resistant, Stupefy could knock it out cold, assuming she could perform the wandwork. Protego was a good defensive tool… Expelliarmus would quickly handle a wizard, again assuming she could cast such a spell…

To her right, she noticed that Ron was extremely worried, and assumed quickly that he was thinking about the same things as her, checking his catalog of tools for overcoming obstacles. At the same time, though, Revlis ('No, Harry…' she reminded herself.) was in his own little world. She noticed his Pokéballs bulging under his robes, and considered the skills she'd already seen from the creatures he had with him. He might be fine just using them to fight or solve whatever puzzle came his way. Of course he had no worries. She pouted in concentration. She needed a game plan…

Finally, the first years exited the cave and found themselves right outside the castle. Harry looked up at the stone castle. As Hermione had mentally noted before him, the castle shifted ever so slightly, the very bricks subtly moving an inch or two every time he looked away. Harry considered this as he walked up to the door. How did the castle do that? Perhaps a spell was cast, but then why would someone cast a spell like that? Perhaps, then, if this castle were as old as the cave below or the Gringotts Vaults, a ghost Pokémon might wander unseen through the halls, possessing the castle itself and would move it's parts for their own mischief. After all, with so many people to mess around with, Pokémon like Ghastly, Gengar, or maybe Rotom would have an infinite number of people who they could mess with!

'Nah…' Harry thought. 'Then wizards would know about it, certainly. I'll have to look deeper into the books about Hogwarts to see if anyone knows how it works…'

Hagrid knocked vigorously on the oak door, and finally, the front doors opened. Behind them was not a troll, or a dragon, but the towering (yet not so much as Hagrid), stern woman Harry and Hermione had met at Diagon Alley.

"'Ere they are, Professor McGonagall. The firs' years." Hagrid said proudly. "Got a good bunch here."

"I should hope so," the woman replied. "I'll handle things from here." She led the group through the entrance hall. Of course, due to the curious shifting of Hogwarts, no two students saw the room the exact same way, but they would agree that the hall was large enough that one could fit a decent house in it, and stack copies of it on top of each other a few times at that. Near the far side of the room laid a marble staircase which liked to alter its shape every once in a while between spiraling, straight, winding, or any combination thereof rose into the abyss above, presumably to the next floor, though even that was wont to differ.

Currently, it faced them with statues of a sleeping dragon with a miniature man looking about to tickle it on either side and a fire-colored carpet up the stairs and odd words etched into the hand rails over and over, and moved straight up and into the wall, where it split into two paths. As Harry walked past it, the dragon woke from its slumber and ate the man whole before falling asleep again. As it slept, Harry noticed, its mouth was pried open by the man, who crawled out of the beast's maw, waking the creature again and prompting it to breath small bursts of fire at the small statue. Harry was interested to see what would have happened next, but tore himself away to follow the crowd into a small chamber to the right.

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to speak, and what chatter Harry had been hearing up to then ceased. If he had bothered to look behind him, he would have seen that even the dragon statues had ceased their games of cat and mouse with the foolish humans and were paying rapt attention.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," She said, keeping that stern look on her face, but allowing a small smile. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but first you must be sorted."

Ron's gulp was audible.

"This is a very important ceremony, as the house you are sorted into will serve as a sort of family while you stay here. You will have classes with them, sleep in their dorm, and spend free time in their common room.

"You may find yourself in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin, and each has a noble history and all have produced fine witches and wizards. While you stay here, your successes will be shared with those whose house you share in the form of house points, and rulebreaking," She glanced at Ron only for a moment, seeming to have picked him out by his red hair, "will result in the loss of points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points earns the honor of being awarded the House Cup. I can only hope that you are all a credit to whichever house you are placed in. We'll begin soon, so do smarten up a little, and await my return. We'll be leaving for the Great Hall when we're ready for you."

With that, she strode from the room into the next room, where many voices could be heard. Harry quickly checked himself, smoothing out his robes a bit and futilely flattening his hair. He eventually gave up on his hair, which was as unruly as an untrained Primeape. He turned to Ron, who was trembling as he tried to rub out a smudge on his nose, and to Hermione, who was starting to sweat as she used her fingers to brush her hair while she recited the various incantations she'd learned, obviously mispronouncing a few, flustering her further.

"It's just a ceremony to sort us by house, guys, lighten up!" He said as he scratched his head, which only served to muss his hair up in a new and different way. "Keep stressing out like this, you'll explode like a Voltorb before you even get in there."

Ron stared at him, bewildered, and nose forgotten. "Va-what?"

"Voltorb," Harry repeated. "They look like Pokéballs, and like to blow themselves up as a defense mechanism."

"They blow up?" Hermione gaped. "That's horrible!"

Harry smiled as he distracted his new friends from the upcoming sorting. "Not really, unless you're nearby. The explosion doesn't hurt them much, just knocks them out, and a little rest gets them right as rain. Anyway, what I'm saying is that stressing out over something you don't know about or something you can't change is only going to mess you up when you go out and do it. So, Ron, your brothers are through that door, right? I'm sure they'll be cheering for you as you get yourself sorted into their house! And Hermione, you've got plenty of knowhow, you'll do fine wherever you are. And if things actually get bad, we'll team up, right?"

The two looked at each other, then to Harry, before hesitantly nodding.

"Right then. Together, we can get past anything!" He reached out, and his friends put their hands on his. "Together to the end!"

He would someday look back fondly on this day, where he had found friends who would stick with him just as he would them: together forever.

In the meantime, Professor McGonagall returned to the room, and led them through to the Great Hall.

What immediately drew Harry's attention upon entering the room was that there didn't seem to be a roof. Instead, he could see only the starry sky above them, complemented by the lit candles floating in midair.

"The roof's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I heard about it in _Hogwarts, a History_…" Hermione muttered when she saw Harry staring. Harry looked back down to gather in the appearance of his future fellow classmates. Every dish, already delicately placed on the table, was made of polished gold, though you could barely tell since they were behind hundreds of staring eyes. Harry noted the redheads he'd met on the Knight Bus (Ron's brothers) sitting at one table, which he assumed to be Gryffindor's table. Up ahead, Prof. McGonagall had placed a stool before the headmaster, and upon it… a hat.

'All that buildup, and it's a hat? Maybe… Some kind of Psychic puzzle or something?' Harry thought. Suddenly, the hat moved. Some kind of mouth formed, and it began to sing. Harry took this surprisingly well.

'What. What. Why? Why is it…'

"You may not think I'm pretty, But don't judge on what you see…"

'Is this the test? See how you react to the singing?'

"… For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, And I can cap them all!"

'Is the hat some kind of Pokémon?'

"There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see…"

'Oh… character judge. That's MUCH simpler.'

"You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart…"

'He's even telling us the requirements for every house.'

"… You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal…"

Harry heard light sniggering from the students with green ties. "Yeah, and barmy," one voice muttered.

"…Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, If you've a ready mind…"

'I wonder why they think Hufflepuff stinks… I'd rather have loyal friends than… um, whatever they have.'

"… Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends…"

Harry noticed the blond boy, Draco, looking quite proud as the hat described the house as being cunning and ambitious. Ron, meanwhile had a look that said "Just gag me."

"So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none) For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

'Thank you, Exposition Hat!' Harry smiled and applauded the hat.

"So you've just got to try on the hat…" Ron sighed in relief as Prof. McGonagall pulled out a scroll and began calling students up, one by one. "I'm gonna kill Fred and George. They got me all worked up for nothing!"

When the first student, Hannah Abbot, tried on the hat, there was a short pause, before the hat opened its mouth as if preparing to shout, and a booming voice roared:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

And so it went. Another Hufflepuff, two Ravenclaws, a Gryffindor, a Slytherin, Hufflepuff again and Gryffindor again…

Then Hermione was called, and the hat was on her head for a while before it called out "GRYFFINDOR!" Harry congratulated her as she ran happily to the table with the red-wearing students, the hems of her robes and the tie around her neck taking on the same hue. He noted that with every announcement, McGonagall waved a wand surreptitiously, followed by the clothing change. He wondered if the change was permanent or if they later had to recolor the clothes by other means. Another question to ask later.

Neville was next, and found himself in Gryffindor, and after accidentally taking the hat with him and returning it, the sorting continued.

After another student, Draco sauntered up to the hat, and almost before the hat had even been put on his head, the hat screamed "SLYTHERIN!" Harry had a feeling the hat hadn't wanted to be on his head for every long, judging by the pitch of the cry.

A few more students, and then, his name came. At once, he felt eyes all over the room scanning the crowd for him, and as he stepped up, those same eyes locked onto him. All sorts of voices spoke in hushed whispers, in awe of The Boy Who Lived.

'That'll get old quick…' Harry thought as his vision was obscured. He waited for the roar of the hat, so he was surprised to hear a psychic whisper in his mind.

"Oh, familiar with the process of speaking in your mind, are you? How interesting! But also difficult. You've plenty of courage in the face of danger…a good head on these shoulders… a grand ambition… Ah… Ah… As you said yourself, 'I'd rather have loyal friends.' You value friendship above all else… Your connections to others are precious enough to give you strength… It is the source of your courage, the motivation that drives your mind, and builds your goals… A will like that can only go to one place in this school. Keep following your friends, Mr. Potter, and you'll no doubt find the path to unity between worlds there, in…"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Utter silence in the Slytherin Table, especially among the students who had badmouthed Hufflepuff earlier.

Some of the Gryffindor looked odd as they applauded, as though they were expecting Harry to be with them. Hermione, however, had a look that said that she had known all along how this would end.

Ravenclaw seemed fairly neutral as they applauded, although they seemed disappointed to not be receiving Harry.

Hufflepuff, however, was estatic, and practically bouncing as they cheered and applauded. Harry blushed at the applause as he walked down to the Hufflepuff Table, having his hand shook many times before he was able to sit next to an older, dark haired and grey-eyed burly fellow.

From where he sat, he could finally see the table where the staff sat. A squat, smiling woman with dirt all over her clothes and a heavily battered hat looked fondly over his table, so presumably she was in charge of Hufflepuff. Hagrid sat nearby, and gave Harry a thumbs-up when he noticed Harry looking.

Professor Dumbledore seemed somewhat bemused by Harry's sorting, but the twinkle in his eyes didn't fade. He had his eyes on the proceedings as other students walked up to the hat and joined their tables.

Finally, it was Ron's turn. He took several shaky steps up to the stool, stopped, another step… and he seemed to have frozen solid. Finally, he got over it and walked up to the hat. Almost immediately the Sorting Hat called out enthusiastically: "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry could have sworn that he was cheering the loudest as Ron collapsed into a seat at the Gryffindor Table, looking numb as his brothers and Hermione congratulated him. Harry caught his eye and applauded with all his strength. 'Knowing how hard it must have been for him after getting himself so nervous, he definitely deserves to be in the brave-guy House.'

"Friend of yours?" The burly boy asked. Harry nodded.

"One of the first friends I've gotten out here."

"That's great. You should try to keep that friendship, even though you're in different houses."

"Thanks," Harry nodded. "Might I ask your name?"

"Cedric. Cedric Diggory," the boy replied. "A pleasure to meet you, Harry."

"Err, thanks," Harry replied. "Oh, looks like the headmaster's about to speak."

And indeed he did. "Welcome, all, to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin the feast, let me say a few words: Conferral! Lucubrate! Boondoggle! Upchuck! Thank you!" And then he sat down.

Harry coughed lightly as everyone cheered. "What… Is he… insane?"

Cedric laughed. "Maybe, but he's also a genius. Best wizard of our time." They sat down, and Harry found himself surrounded with various foods all over. Harry gaped at the dishes. Some of the dishes, like a soft, jelly-like substance a fellow student exclaimed as "Yorkshire Pudding," were completely foreign. At the same time, chicken, potato fries, and other familiar foods were scattered along the table. In addition, in arms reach were Ecruteak-style Sitrus Rice Balls, an entrée that students nearby seemed unfamiliar with and reluctant to eat, giving Harry cause to believe that Dumbledore had had it made especially for him as a familiar meal. Harry added a ball to the plate and dug in, prompting other students to tentatively grab one and taste it uncertainly, only to find it being possessed of an odd-yet-delicious taste.

"Umph… Munch… wow… what is this?" a fourth-year girl to Harry's left asked.

"Oh, a specialty from back home." Harry replied between bites. "I'm actually a bit surprised to see it here. It's a long way from here."

"Now that I think about it, where WERE you all this time?" Susan Bones, another first year, asked.

"Oh, Floe Island, in the Sevii Sea." Harry replied automatically.

"Eh?" Cedric frowned. "Never heard of it."

"Oh, right, it's in the Pokémon World… There's some kind of dimensional thing at work keeping it separate from the rest of the world."

"How'd you get there?" The fourth year girl asked.

"I can't say. I have no memory of having ever lived here, so it's a bit of a culture shock for me…"

"Ah, well, I'm sure you'll fit right in," Cedric said, smiling. "If there's anything you need to know, come ask us. Hufflepuffs stick together, you know."

"Thanks… Oh, do you know how one would start a club or something like that?" Harry asked.

"Oh, speak to our Head of House-" he gestured to the squat woman, confirming Harry's suspicion. "-And she'll take you to speak with the Headmaster to present your club idea. Why? You got some game from back home you'd like to bring here?"

"Yeah, something like that," Harry smiled. He and the Hufflepuffs conversed for quite a while as they finished off their dinner.

Eventually, when Harry thought he couldn't eat anymore, the food was cleared from their plates, only to be replaced with dessert, and Harry's appetite became quite willing to consume even more.

"Is… is it ALWAYS like this?" Harry asked in shock as he took some ice cream and a Jelly Doughnut.

Cedric nodded.

'I hope Prof. Oak increases the size of his fireplace, or I'll get stuck in there when I come out at break unless I exercise a LOT…'

"So, Harry, if you don't remember how you got into this Poklamon World-"

"Pokémon." Harry corrected.

"Pokémon. Anyways, how'd you get back here?"

"Well, seems Prof. Dumbledore and a Professor back home keep in touch via that fireplace transportation system, and when they most recently spoke, my name came up, and supposedly Dumbledore came through to see me faster than anything… I met him, I came here for school supplies, went back, and came here to go to school. Prof. Oak says this is the most use he's gotten out of the Fireplace in years," Harry laughed.

"So it's connected by Floo?"

"Yeah, I haven't gotten around to asking how that happened yet…" Harry blushed. He looked up to the Staff Table, only to meet eyes with one of the teachers, a hook-nosed, sallow-skinned man with black, greasy hair. Harry stared at the man, taking in his stern, disapproving features. "Hey, who's the creepy guy up there? Next to the turban guy."

"Oh, that's Professor Snape. Teaches Potions, though he wants Defense Against the Dark Arts. No wonder Quirrel, the, um, turban guy, looks so spooked…"

"Ohhhhh…" Harry said, still looking at the man, when he felt a psychic connection, not unlike the feeling he had had when an Alakazam had attempted to probe his memories shortly after he woke in the Pokémon World. He frowned. There was no way to stop a Psychic Connection like that, except with the help of a stronger Psychic-type Pokémon. If this man was trying to read his mind… Well, there's nothing he can do to stop him here... Harry looked back down to his food, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling. He had nothing to hide.

And then he felt a sharp pain on top of where his scar was.

"Ow!" He muttered. 'OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!' He mentally screamed at the invader. Very quickly, the connection broke, and though Harry hadn't caught it, the greasy-haired guy leaned back in his chair, hand over one of his ears as though someone had shouted into it.

"You alright there, Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I think I just stubbed my toe on something…" Harry replied distractedly. A few minutes without any more mental intrusions later, the food on the table vanished, and Dumbledore stood up.

"Ahem- Now that our stomachs are full, I have a few start of term notices. First years should be advised that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils, and should advise as much to a few of our older students as well…" He looked in the direction of the Gryffindor Table, though Harry couldn't see where exactly his eyes fell.

"Also, Mr. Filch would have me remind you that no magic is allowed in the halls between classes. Quidditch Trials will be held in the second week of term, and anyone interested should speak to Madam Hooch,"

'That sport Hagrid and Ron were talking about…' Harry remembered.

"And finally, I must warn you: due to a bit of an accident there this last summer, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Hannah Abbot gulped.

'Wonder what happened to make it so dangerous?' Harry thought to himself.

"Now that that's said and done, let us sing our school song."

'More singing? I don't even know the words… Oh dear.' Harry thought. 'the teachers don't seem very excited either…'

Dumbledore flicked his wand, producing a golden ribbon that floated high above and twisted into words for the whole school to see. Harry sighed in slight relief. Now all he needed was the tune-

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," began Dumbledore.

'Arceus' Judgement!' Harry swore mentally.

"And off we gooooo!"

Harry hastily picked, at random, the chorus to "What Kind of Pokémon Are You?" and braced himself for the nightmare of mixed melodies he was about to hear.

It was hard to tell from all the mixing voices, but if you could pick out the lyrics to the song, it would be something like this:

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_  
_Teach us something please,_  
_Whether we be old and bald_  
_Or young with scabby knees,_  
_Our heads could do with filling_  
_With some interesting stuff,_  
_For now they're bare and full of air,_  
_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_  
_So teach us things worth knowing,_  
_Bring back what we've forgot,_  
_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_  
_And learn until our brains all rot!"_

Harry found that, as expected, everyone was finishing the song at different times, with the last to finish being two voices from the Gryffindor Table (Harry recognized the voices as Ron's older twin brothers), who were singing to a slow funeral march. Dumbledore dutifully conducted the last of their lines, and applauded the entire school at the end.

"Ah, music, a magic beyond everything we do here! Now, bedtime! Off you go!"

Harry followed Cedric down to the lower floors, waving to Ron and Hermione as they climbed the steps to the upper floors. It wasn't long before he and the other Hufflepuffs found themselves in front of a still-life portrait. Cedric approached it, and a voice called from the painting.

"Password?"

"Snargleluff Pods." Cedric replied. The painting moved like a door opening, and Harry entered into the Hufflepuff Common Room, where there were many large, comfy seats, and a cozy fire awaited those who wished to sit before it, but Cedric directed Harry to two holes in the walls, which he passed through to find a series of round doors, one of which had a sign beckoning the 1st Years. When Harry entered into here, he found a bunch of beds, with his possessions placed carefully next to one bed and his pajamas placed on the bed, folded neatly. Harry smiled, pulling off his robes and slipping into his sleepwear before dropping onto the bed and falling asleep.

That night, he dreamed of symbols in unexplored underwater caverns, riding the giant squid and observing the quick shadows speeding through the lake bed… He was working to uncover a mystery of importance, though he knew not what it was. But then a dragon of stone rose the bottom of the lake, breathing fire inexplicably and moving to eat him as it turned into a giant snake. A cold laugh could be heard in his ears as the jaws snapped upon him.

He woke with a start, frowning. 'Okay, that's the last time I eat like a Munchlax before bed, feast or no feast…'

* * *

"So, I got to see Deathly Hallows P2 early. Apparently, having a navy dad and access to a navy theater has some advantages time and again."

Shadow: "Uh huh."

Harry: "And?"

"It's awesome. A very good end to the movie series. I loved it, and you all should see it."

Harry: "I don't need to. I LIVED it."

"So, anyway, here's the new chapter. See you next time."


	9. Of Impressions

Pokémon Wizard  
By James The Fox  
Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling  
Pokémon belongs to Game Freak and Nintendo

"Wow, Pottermore is awesome. Two words: Dem backstories."

Harry: "Poor McGonagall." (sniffling)

"I actually dislike the Dursleys a little less now. Madness."

"I am going to use details from Pottermore as they come up, if they are applicable to the PKMN Wiz Fanon. Also, I have a Tumblr."

Harry: "What."

"Yes. Search for James the Fox on Tumblr, then come and ask me anything, I guess… I'll be posting stuff like one-shots, progress updates, advice about fanfics, and replies to questions there. But enough about all that. On to the Fic!"

* * *

Chapter H-7: Of Impressions

* * *

"Is that really him? I mean, he's got the scar, but…"

"I wonder where he's been all this time…"

"Forget that, you see those… things… with him? What are they?"

"I dunno. I've never seen them in my Care of Magical Creatures textbook…"

Harry tried to ignore the students murmuring about him as he nibbled at the bacon that had appeared at the table while his Transfiguration textbook laid beside his plate. He had been hearing things like this since he got up. _It's almost like they think I'm some kind of living legend… _Harry paused. _Oh, right. They kinda DO… _

It didn't help that he had brought out his Pokémon so they could eat as well, giving them more reason to point and whisper to each other. However, he noticed two kinds of reactions, possibly denoting whether the children in question were raised amongst non-magical people world or not: Some children, like Hermione had, paid relatively little mind to his partners at first, probably just accepting it as another part of the magical world. The other first years, and every student who wasn't a first year, eyed the Pokémon with suspicion and worry: they weren't normal, even for a magical society.

_Of course,_ Harry mused to himself, _all of the first years have one thing in common: they're going to end up late to every class they have, because this school has a SICK sense of humor!_

It had started with Harry taking the stairs Cedric had led the first years down earlier to come up not in the entrance hall, but on the seventh floor. Going back down it took him to the fourth floor, then the spiral staircase he'd found took him to the third floor, and another stairway took him all the way to the fifth floor…

The castle, or whoever was in charge of it, seemed to think that changing the entire layout of the castle was some kind of funny joke. Everything had changed positions from the night before. Worse yet, some of the changes didn't even make sense. _I go down a flight of stairs from the fifth floor, and expect to end up on the fourth floor or at least lower than when I started, NOT to find myself on the seventh floor! That just… just doesn't happen! It's like the descriptions Ocean-Blue Master Cynthia gave of the Torn World… Wait…_ Harry pulled out a pen and a notebook with "Observations of the Other World" scrawled on the cover from his bag and quickly found a blank spot on a page, writing in: Hogwarts Geometry Hypothesis 2: Connection between Torn World and Hogwarts? He was about to continue when a hand tapped him from behind.

"Isn't it a bit early to be doing homework?" Harry startled at the question from Cedric as he sat to Harry's right.

"O-oh, this isn't homework. Well, it kinda is… I'm just writing in some notes about the Wizarding World. I've been taking note of possible connections between this world and the Pokémon World."

Cedric raised an eyebrow as he looked at the notebook. On the pages were several little scribbles of various notes written in as incoherent and messy of handwriting as any he had seen before. "You sure you shouldn't be in Ravenclaw? Inquisitiveness is pretty highly valued over there."

"The Sorting Hat said something similar, like I had a shoe-in to any one of the houses. I have a big goal, and a lot of bravery, and a thirst for knowledge…" Harry glanced towards the Gryffindor Table, seeing the two students he'd spent a train ride with the day before. "But the hat said something about my friendship being my source of strength or something…" Harry grabbed a slice of toast, leaving the bacon to the side. "So he put me here."

"I see," Cedric said. "Well, I look forward to seeing you make our House proud."

Harry shot him a look. "Look, um, Cedric, I'll try my best, but, well, I'm nothing special and─"

"Er, not as Harry Potter or anything, but as one of us." Cedric backpedaled. "I'd say the same to any first year (and probably will…). It's just that Slytherin has won the House Cup six years running, and their seventh years are intending on making this a clean sweep. Needless to say, I don't like how much they're bragging about it." He sighed. "If we're going to pull an upset, we need to be exceptional this year. If we earn as many points as possible, and get in virtually no trouble the whole year… Obviously a reach goal, but I'd like to see us at least come close."

Harry smirked. "You sure you shouldn't be in Slytherin? Ambition like that is pretty highly valued over there."

Cedric's face looked sour for a few seconds, and Harry had been sure the older boy had gotten something stuck in his throat, but before he could call for help Cedric chuckled a little nervously. "I guess, but I'm not quite as cunning as those snakes in the grass…" There was a pause broken only by the sounds of silverware clattering and the voices of students talking with each other. "Hey, uh… Did you have trouble getting down here? I can't help but notice that I left after you and got here before you."

Harry noted a change in subject, but decided not to pursue whatever was bothering him in lieu of the potentially useful line of questioning Cedric had moved onto.

"Yeah, I did. You wouldn't happen to be able to help me find my classes, would you? I spent twenty minutes going in circles between the second and sixth floors when I thought I was going straight downstairs."

Cedric laughed. "Yeah, Hogwarts can be like that. I've got time till my class starts, just let me grab some other Hufflepuffs and─"

"Mind if I grab Ron and Hermione? They might want some help too, and they're my friends."

Cedric nodded. "Of course, a friend of yours is a friend of ours."

Harry thanked him, standing up and snatching a pancake to put in his mouth. "Alright, guys," Harry addressed his Pokémon, who had just finished eating food Harry had passed to them from the table. Ralts burped contently. "I'm going to grab Hermione and Ron, and tour the school. I think you can stay here, but don't make any trouble, and don't leave the Great Hall. I don't want you getting lost and causing mischief. Or, if you want, you can come with me, though I'll have to put you in your Pokéballs when classes start.

_No way am I staying here. You could get in trouble without me, so I'm coming with you, Harry. _Ralts smiled, hopping onto the table and then onto Harry's shoulder.

_I miss Mommy if I stay here!_ Mantyke bounced a few times, jumping into Harry's arms.

Hoothoot shrugged lazily. _I see some rafters I can rest in. I do hope there's a place for me to go flying at night… _She flew up to a nook just beneath a rafter, giving her shade from the sunlight, and began dozing off.

Snorunt and Remoraid looked at each other, one shuddering despite the room temperature and one stuck in an icy glorified fishbowl. _Yeah, no. We're coming with you,_ said Remoraid, as Snorunt froze up the opening on top of the bowl, allowing the fish Pokémon to roll the ice ball around to follow the group.

Tyrogue walked up to Harry. _I will not abandon you, Mother._

Harry smiled in reply, and went to collect Ron and Hermione.

* * *

Ten minutes saw Cedric and a large group of first years emerging from behind a painting, having climbed up from the fourth floor to the second floor via a secret passage to show yet another quirk of the castle's fluctuating design. At the moment, the walls were adorned with thousands of paintings, some of which could only barely be seen from where they sat near the improbably high ceiling. Suits of armor stood guard over the winding halls, and tapestry of wizards doing great things could be seen everywhere…

… And students and animated décor alike were wincing and covering their ears from the wailing coming from behind a door that seemed to be leaking copious quantities of water.

"… Finally," Cedric continued his lesson loudly, already regretting the choice to come to this floor, "No matter how much the structure of the castle changes, there will ALWAYS be a way from one floor to the ones above and below it. They will be marked with some similarity between them." Cedric looked about quickly. "For example, right now there are two staircases here with blue carpeting and marble statues on either side. The one that goes up takes you to the third floor, and the one that goes down takes you to the first floor. This is one of the most reliable ways to travel from one floor to the other: When you need to get there, look for the pair..."

_Make it stop! Make it stoooopp…_ Ralts gritted his teeth as he started staggering about. _It's like Zubat's Supersonic…_ Snorunt shivered harder than ever, Mantyke started to cry, and Remoraid shuddered as the icy sphere around him began to crack. Tyrogue pushed his fists together, closing his eyes as though trying to ignore the sound.

Harry noticed his Pokemon's discomfort and quickly pulled out his Pokéballs, returning them with haste, except for Remoraid, who was still relatively safe inside his icy ball.

"What is that noise!" Ron cried out, his face scrunched up in pain. "Is it even human!"

"That's Moaning Myrtle!" Cedric yelled back. "She's got problems, apparently, has had them since before I was a first year. There's a reason no one ever uses the girl's lavatory on this floor. Let's get somewhere quieter." Cedric ran down the stairs with the marble statues and blue carpet, and the others followed. As they went down the stairs, the carpet seems to change from blue to red, and the bottom of the stairway was flanked by suits of silver armor. The wailing had faded. Cedric rubbed his sore ears, grimacing from the pain. "So, um, any questions?"

Hermione raised a hand immediately as Harry let his Pokémon out again, with Snorunt quickly getting to work repairing Remoriad's method of transport. "Is there a reliable way to travel from the first floor to the third and vice versa… Without passing through the second floor?"

Cedric laughed. "Well, there's a roundabout way, we'll have to go to the fifth floor…"

* * *

Harry made sure to thank Cedric profusely for the tour several times over the next few days, as he had managed to do what was impossible for most first-years: be on time for every one of their first classes.

Of course, these classes were often as odd as the castle itself. Transfiguration on Monday afternoon was perhaps the most surprising of that week to Harry; only a handful of Pokémon were able to change shape (and one of them was legendarily the ancestor to almost all other life) and yet there was someone who could be a cat (not a Meowth, or a Persian, or any other Cat Pokémon, but just a cat) one second, then a person the next! Her next feat had truly blown Harry's mind apart as a desk became a living pig then turned back to a desk.

"Buh… buhh… How…" Harry stared at the now-inanimate desk until the Professor coughed loudly.

"Pay attention, Mr. Potter, and perhaps you will _learn_ how," McGonagall replied sharply but not unkindly.

The notes Harry took didn't seem to get him any closer to being able to explain what had happened, but it did aid him as he worked at turning a matchstick into a needle. Harry caused the matchstick to catch fire first (along with his desk), but by the end, he was able to get both sides to be sharp, though it resembled a toothpick with red on one tip more than it did a needle, a feat she claimed only one other student in his year had managed.

The Double Herbology class with Gryfindor that met every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning, on the other hand, had seemed significantly more familiar than any other class, thanks to Harry's work on his mom's Pokémon Ranch, taking care of many different Grass Type Pokemon. There were several odd plants in Greenhouse 1, and although there was nothing quite like the more magical plants Harry had read about and been eager to see, it still had a sense of discovery that Harry relished.

However, it did not distract him from the goal he had set for himself. After class on Tuesday, Harry met with the Herbology Professor: his Head of House, Pomona Sprout.

"A club for raising these 'Pokémon' creatures?" Prof. Sprout asked as she held Ralts before her with a quizzical look on her face. "He's quite cute, but I don't know the first thing about Pokémon, let alone where we'd even be able to find any for students to raise…"

"That's not a problem, Professor. Back home, I spend a lot of time running an organization to find families for Pokémon Eggs that no one has the time to take care of. I'd have to put students through a basic competency test to make sure they can take care of Pokémon, but that's simple enough that most ten-year-olds can complete it."

"Running a club, any club, is a difficult, stressful business. Are you certain you can handle…" Professor Sprout paused. "… Wait, you RUN this organization? How big is…"

"Big enough that I often have to make trips from one region to another. I get some help from a lot of volunteers, hundreds in fact, but I still do a lot of legwork as well as paperwork. I know how tough running a club like this will be, and I'm committed. They say Hufflepuffs are able to handle hard work, right?"

Sprout looked Harry in the eyes, and upon seeing something Harry couldn't quite figure out in them, she smiled. "Very well then. This Friday, we'll see Professor Dumbledore about starting this 'Pokémon Trainer's Club' of yours." She put Ralts back in Harry's hands. "Now, I'm sure you don't want to miss lunch, so off you trot. You'll need your energy for History of Magic."

Harry quickly thanked her and left, and spent that lunch starting up preparations for what would soon be the second most popular club in Hogwarts (With Quidditch ahead and Gobstones just behind).

Harry's excitement turned out to be barely enough to keep him conscious through History of Magic, which every student in Hogwarts agreed was easily the most boring of all of the classes. This was a disappointment to Harry, who had hoped to hear more tidbits concerning the ancient past of what many mythologists in the Pokémon World called 'The Banished World.' Instead, he heard endless droning about Goblin revolts and Giant wars, to the point Harry was certain the old ghost running the class was in fact repeating himself… Something that Harry would quickly confirm in the coming weeks: entire lectures, repeated ad nauseum. The good news was that at the same time, nothing short of getting out of your seat or shouting at the top of your lungs was enough to break the ghost out of his stupor, which meant that this was essentially free time, as long as you weren't disrupting the professor. This became a blessing from Arceus for Harry very quickly.

Harry also considered himself lucky that he didn't have that class on Friday, as he was certain that between Herbology, Charms and the late night Astronomy classes, Thursday was filled with work for Harry and he didn't feel like losing a day to Prof. Binn's lectures.

Charms was more akin to what Harry had been expecting from magic given by Arceus than Transfiguration: Psychic powers like levitation, bursts of energy, or even Embers from the tip of your wand were similar to the powers Pokémon exhibited. Harry took to the Tickling Charm the little Charms Professor, Flitwick, taught the class like a Pidgeot to the air.

Astronomy on the other hand, was interesting to Harry in how similar the night sky was to the Pokémon World's. There was the Wise Kingler, just next to what Professor Sinestra called Hercules, but whom Harry knew as the Veilstone Huntsman in despair, about to cast his weapon, a "sword," to the ground. To the south Harry could make out the Sturdy Steelix of Sunnyshore, whose brave sacrifice saved an ancient people from a tidal wave. Ironically, Sinestra labeled it as Eridanus, which was a river here. It was interesting to Harry to see the same sky in an entirely new way, but intimidating to see just how different this world was from his own.

In all of the excitement, Harry had almost forgotten about the relatively unremarkable day he had had Wednesday, with a focus on Friday's upcoming Defense against the Dark Arts class with the spineless-seeming Prof. Quirrell and, after that, the final preparations for his meeting with Dumbledore.

Of course, almost forgetting can be quite ruined when something reminds you. On the way back to the Common Room after Charms on Thursday, he saw a group of first year Gryffindors lead by Ron practically fuming as they began to make their way back to their dorms.

"Hey Ron, Hermione!" Harry called out, and it took another call for the two to notice him.

"Oh, hey Harry." Ron said as he walked up to his friend, followed by Hermione.

_Hey, Bidoof-face._ Ralts called to Hermione.

"Hi, Ralts, how are you?"

Ralts smiled. _Not as good now as how I was five seconds ago. Thanks for that._

Hermione giggled at Ralt's happy tone, picking him up. "That's good to hear."

"So, how have you guys been? What class did you just come from?" Harry asked.

Ron groaned. "Double Potions with the Slytherins… What a nightmare."

Hermione frowned. "You shouldn't be saying that about teachers…" Her voice was hesitant, as though she didn't quite agree with her own words.

"I'd heard horror stories from the twins about Snape, but the real deal is ten times worse!"

Harry frowned. "Potions, huh."

"Hufflepuffs had Potions yesterday, right?" Ron asked. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

* * *

Yesterday…

* * *

Harry walked into Potions Class, plenty early, and found a seat near the front, where he could easily see the board. By this time, most of the first years had figured out how to move through the castle with some efficiency, so it surprised Harry that not many Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws had arrived yet. It was five minutes later, about a minute before class started, when they all started packing in at once. More than a few were giving Harry odd looks as they quickly filled up the back seats.

Then, the man of the hour arrived: Severus Snape, Potions Master. With robes as black as a Ghastly's core, he swept by the students, making for the front desk. Harry watched as the took up the roll sheet, and read down the list of names. Harry was half-dreading the inevitable pause that just about ALL of his teachers had given so far when they came to him, and indeed it came, but what happened next was almost refreshingly different from the other reactions.

"Ah, Harry Potter. Our new…" He gave an unnerving glance at the bespectacled student with eyes emptier than the inside of a Shedinja. "… Celebrity. How quaint." He quickly moved down the rest of the student's names, and paused for quite a while. "… You are here to learn the exact science of potion-making. You'll be doing very little with your wands in this class, for this is no simple, obtuse form of magic; this is a subtle art, intricate in design, delicate in execution, but unparalleled in usefulness, and in beauty. I doubt you fools will understand this power. But those of you who do will find yourselves seven years from now bearing a unique and sought-after talent. I will teach you to bottle fame, to brew glory, and…" He gave a small sneer. "… Even stopper death, if you have more talent than the fools I usually work with."

Harry frowned. _Creepy… Well, at least he takes pride in his work. Maybe he's a nice guy under all that creepy._

"Potter!" Prof. Snape called, his voice barely above a whisper but heard by all. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

_Wow, pop quiz already? Gonna have to remember to reread my textbook before class._ "Let's see, Asphodel… Wormwood… That's a draught of…" Harry scratched his chin. "Something… Oh, it induces sleep, right? Can't quite remember the name, but-"

"The potion's name, Potter, is the Draught of Living Death, named so because of how deep a sleep the drinker falls into. You would do well to remember the name as well as the function, as there are over 10 Potions with similar but different effects, dosages, and different uses, such as the Dreamless Sleep Potion for medicinal purposes and overconsumption of a Drowsiness Potion or a Draught of Peace… We wouldn't want someone in an endless sleep because you forgot which was which. Now, let's see if you can do better on this question: if I asked you to collect a bezoar from its natural habitat, where would you look?"

Harry frowned. _A Venasaur? No, a bezoar. I've never heard of it. Arceus, he's really going all out on these questions… _"… Sorry, sir, I don't know what that is, let alone where to look for it."

Snape's eyes flickered towards Harry for but a moment, and Harry was sure that the temperature of the room had dropped. "I see. For future reference, the bezoar can be found in the stomach of a goat, and will protect against most poisons. I'll give you one more chance. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harry's frown grew deeper. "Er… one's used to protect against something, and the other's for hurting wolves?"

The professor's gaze had become colder than the room itself. "Now, now… Fame isn't everything, is it, Potter?"

To the class' surprise, Harry nodded immediately. "Of course, and unfounded fame is worth even less." He smiled. "I haven't even done anything yet, and people are gawking like I'm one of the Elite Four. You've taught a valuable lesson to this class. Good job!" Snape looked taken aback. Harry raised an eyebrow. "… Er, but you know this is a Potions Class. Maybe we should continue with Potions, instead of personal growth?"

"One point from Hufflepuff for your cheek, Potter." Snape turned to the board behind him, and began writing an assignment. "… But you are correct. Monkshood. Wolfsbane. There is no difference, except in the name, which can also be aconite. It is good for joint relief, but only when massaged into the joint itself. If ingested, it is a deadly poison." He paused in his writing. "Well, why am I not hearing quills on parchment? Did no one write ANY of that down?"

Harry raised his hand as he finished copying Snape's words on a notebook. The class was suddenly noisy with writing.

"Potter, put your hand down, you look like a fool," Snape snapped without turning from the board.

A few minutes later, the professor stepped away from the board. "Your assignment is on the board. You have the rest of the class to make a cure for boils. Form into pairs." He sat at his desk at the head of the class, and watched the students begin their work even as he went through several papers.

Harry quickly found himself a partner, a dark-haired Ravenclaw named Michael Corner, and began the process of putting the ingredients in carefully. The boy was surprisingly silent as he followed Harry's instructions. It was only as Harry set the brew down to cool midway through that he started to speak.

"Geez, Potter," Michael muttered. "You're much better at actually brewing potions than remembering stuff about them."

Harry chose to take that as a complement as he inspected the textbook. "I've got experience in cooking stuff. Be they Poffins, Pokeblocks, food, or Potions, I'm darned good at mixing ingredients and coming up with a good outco-" Harry stopped talking, got up, and walked past him to Ernie Macmillan, a Hufflepuff in another group. Harry quickly grabbed Ernie's hand. "Er, sorry to interrupt, but the slugs should wait until the Potion's a little cooler."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you have to put the flames on a low heat and simmer before adding the slugs. I'm not the best at remembering things, but I was literally just reading the instructions."

Ernie's partner, a Ravenclaw girl, was also reading the textbook. "He's right, Ernie. Sorry, should have told you that before you started."

Harry smiled as he returned to his seat. "Sorry. Hufflepuff loyalty, couldn't let a fellow student mess up. What were we talking about?"

Michael smirked. "Cooking, and how you're better at it than memorizing."

"Well, yeah," Harry stifled a laugh. "Just give me a bit, I'll have the text memorized… eventually.

Snape had been watching, and begrudgingly muttered something under his breath. A floor up, the Hufflepuff point-glass gained a single grain.

* * *

"Er, Harry?" Ron asked. "Potions? Snape? Scary?"

"Nope, I'm not sure what you're talking about, Ron." Harry scratched the back of his head. "I mean, he kinda threw a pop quiz out at us, then said something about fame not being everything, but after that he sorta just sat there and watched us like a Sneasel. He seemed alright to me."

"… You two are mad, you know that?" Ron asked. Hermione pouted as she held a struggling Ralts affectionately, and Harry shrugged.

"Maybe. I'm a wizard in a magical school that constantly shapeshifts in a world separated from my own, it'd make about as much sense as anything else. Hey, wanna head over to Hagrid's after lunch on Saturday? I got an invitation."

Ron sighed. "… Sure."

* * *

"So, Severus, I hear you had your first class with Harry yesterday. What did you make of him?" Professor Dumbledore was in his Office, looking into the new aquarium he had placed in his office. Like many magical containers, it was bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. Inside the aquarium was the Magikarp he had received the day he met Harry. It was swimming rather aimlessly, periodically spasming about oddly.

… _Swim must swim swim must swim danger MUST SPLASH MUST not danger just mom swim must swim… _

Snape was standing in front of Dumbledore's desk, eyeing the odd fish. "Potter… He's not like I expected. Oh, he's a fool; he can't be _his_ son without being a fool…"

"But?" Dumbledore prompted.

Snape was silent.

… _swim must swim swim must danger MUST SPLASH MUST SPLASH MUST not danger just odd thingy swim must swim… _

Dumbledore sighed. "I understand; you so desire to hate him, for being James Potter's son, for looking just like him…" Dumbledore stroked his beard. "But have you seen his eyes?"

… _bird danger MUST SPLASH MUST SPLASH MUST SPLASH MUST SPLASH not danger just looking… _

Snape had actively tried to avoid meeting those eyes the whole class.

… _swim must swim fun time SPLASH FUN SPLASH SPLASH FUN fun time over swim must swim…_

Dumbledore continued. "They're _her_ eyes, I'm told. Even more than anyone could have dreamed. More than could be expected, considering how little he knew her and considering his memory loss. He may share his father's appearance, but his spirit and personality is Lily to the letter. His other teachers all seem to agree, although Quirinus has yet to meet him…"

… _swim must swim danger SPLASH MUST SPLASH not danger just scary mom-friend swim must swim…_

Snape frowned. "Perhaps. He aided a student while we were brewing a boil cure… I almost wish he'd been in the same class as Longbottom, would have avoided that horrible mess…"

Dumbledore smiled, pulling out a small fruit. "There's thinking positively… Now we just need to hear our Defense Professor's point of view… Ah, speaking of… Keep an eye on him for me, will you?"

"Quirrel, sir?"

"Yes." Dumbledore waved his wand, cutting the fruit into small bits and levitating it into the aquarium.

… _swim must swim danger SPLASH MUST no danger food FOOD FOOD SPLASH FOOD SPLASH FOOD FOOD FOOD food gone swim must swim…_

"I frankly don't trust Quirrel of late. Something seems odd about him. I let him into the school so that I may keep an eye on him. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer."

"Sound thinking."

"Indeed. However, I cannot keep watch on him all the time, so I ask you to be my second set of eyes. If my intuition is correct, he could pose a threat to the school, and to Harry."

"Leave it to me, Headmaster." Snape said with no hesitation. He looked at Dumbledore and the Aquarium. "… Headmaster, is that spasming… normal for that fish?"

Dumbledore frowned as Magikarp flopped about in the aquarium. "… I'm not sure. Perhaps I should invite Harry into my office tomorrow, immediately after his class, to ask about it. He would know more about it than I do."

* * *

Harry would be surprised to be summoned up to the Headmaster's office prematurely the next day after Defense…

* * *

"So yeah, Tumblr. I'll be posting chapter update announcements on Tumblr, along with a sketch relevant to the Fanfic being updated. Today's update picture features Harry and his team, as I see them. I'm totally taking requests for what character (and their team, so maybe spoilers!) I draw up next chapter."

Harry: "So yeah, come check out jamesthefoxfanficwriter DOT tumblr DOT com. It needs some love. And for you guys to bother the heck out him about updates."

"Er, right. I apologize for not updating as much over this summer. Hopefully this last month will-"

Sora: "Kingdom Hearts 3D. Pokemon White 2. MLP: FiM Season 3. Korra. Xenoblade Chronicles. School. Get a Job. Mario. The Dark Knight Rises. Your original concept. Phoenix Wright. Your Tumblr…"

"Ah. Well, I'll see you next… year? Maybe? Um, anyway, see ya next time!"


End file.
